For Your Amusement
by Cilla1970
Summary: Bella and Edward are not talking after 10 years together. Will their annual trip to the amusement park with the gang remedy the situation? AH ExB Canon couples and rated for lemons.
1. 1 Bella Gets her Sass On

**Disclaimer: Stephenie owns it all, lucky *****. I do own the idea and these words.**

**A/N: This is my first attempt at a Twilight story that is wholly my own idea, so please be kind and let me know what you think. While it means the world to me when a story is added to the alerts or favorites, it's reviews that keep the creative juices flowing, so PLEASE REVIEW!**

**I hope to post every two weeks. As I get more chapters under my belt, I may increase.**

**Extra special super thanks to my friend and beta Suzie55, without whom, this story may have never made it out of my head, and certainly looks a lot prettier because of her! She's got her own awesome story, The Rules of Hollywood. Please go hijack it from my favorites list!**

**For Your Amusement**

******More than 9 years ago 6 friends started their annual summer trek to the amusement park starting a tradition. 8 years ago, 6 friends became 3 couples. As they graduated high school, college, and entered into their professional careers, their bonds strengthened. Today, 10 years later, they continue this tradition as 2 couples and 1 couple currently not on speaking terms.**

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**A Good Way To Start The Day**

**~Bella~**

Damn it! I've just woken up again in the middle of the night with the feeling that someone is watching me. It's happened a few times over the last couple of weeks. I wake up with a start only to find there's no one there. It's the same thing almost every single night with only a few variations, and it always starts the same.

_I can see him staring at me from across the room as my eyes slowly focus on my surroundings. He hasn't done this for years, so what's he doing here, especially now? He's leaning against the wall at the end of my bed with his arms crossed over his chest, his right knee bent so his foot is resting flat on the wall, and he's looking at me like I'm something to eat. That gorgeous crooked smile just says it all._

_Oh my! I know that look, and I'm definitely game for whatever's coming next. I bite my bottom lip in what I hope is a seductive manner and beckon him to the bed with my eyes. He pushes himself off the wall with his foot and uncrosses his arms as he saunters to the bed. I'm sitting up with my legs out straight in front of me, and he pushes them to the side slightly to make room for him to sit on the bed. He leans on his right arm over my legs almost pulling them to his side as if he wants to make sure I'm not going anywhere._

_My breathing has become labored with his closeness, and I let out a heavy sigh trying to catch my breath. _

"_What are you doing here?" I ask, but I can't bring myself to say his name._

"_I missed you, Bella" he whispers, raising a hand to my cheek. His fingers feather my skin as he moves my hair back from my face and tucks it behind my ear, his thumb stroking my cheekbone as he does. The familiar tingles that go through me as I feel his touch, centre themselves between my legs._

_I exhale loudly and look at him through hooded eyes as he moves his face closer to mine ever so slowly._

"_I just want to try something, don't move" he says softly. "Stay very still."_

_It seems to take years for him to get closer, but finally his mouth is within millimeters of mine. The hand that swept my hair molds to the back of my neck and pulls my lips to his and they touch softly. The kiss is gentle and chaste and conveys so much feeling that I feel a lump form in my throat. We separate slowly and he moves back in again to take my bottom lip in his mouth and sucks gently. Then everything changes. I pull my legs up and kneel in front of him grasping his face with both my hands._

"_I've missed you, too." I choke out through the lump in my throat, and press my lips into his forcefully this time. The kiss is still chaste, but long as I pour my emotions into it. This time when we break and go back, our mouths are open and our tongues are fighting for control over each other, doing a dance together that they've done so many times in the past._

_His hands come up to grasp my arms gently and now he's pushing my back onto the bed. His mouth never leaves mine as our tongues continue to battle each other. He's hovering over me with his weight on one hand and one knee as the other hand pulls the remaining covers away. He grasps my thigh, and trails his hand down my leg. It tickles a bit, and I giggle. He stands up suddenly and stares at me, and I think for a moment that I've upset him and this is now over, and oh god, I sooo don't want it to be._

_But then he reaches behind his head and pulls his shirt off in one quick motion. I can't help the gasp that leaves my mouth as I see his beautiful chest again after so long. He leans over me again and I just have to reach up to lay my hands flat on his pecs. I trace the outline of them with my fingers as my thumbs graze gently across his nipples. They instantly harden under my touch. _

_That crooked smile is back as his hands find my waist and the hem of my shirt. He pushes it up slowly, his hands ghosting over the now heated flesh on my stomach. He stops before my breasts are exposed, and looks at me quirking his eyebrow with a question. He's actually asking if I'm ok with this. GOD YES! I smile and nod as I pull myself up enough for him to pull my shirt the rest of the way up my body and over my head._

_He tosses my shirt on the floor with his, and comes back to the bed crawling over me eyeing my exposed breasts greedily._

"_Scoot over" he commands as his knee pushes my buttocks more to the center of the bed. He rolls to lay to my right as he lies on his left side, his head resting on his left hand. His right hand is making sweeping motions across my bare torso and over my stomach, stopping each time it reaches one of my breasts to squeeze firmly and tug at my nipples. He stops to lean down and suck each of my nipples in turn into his mouth leaving them moist. As he pulls away, he blows across them gently making them so hard they almost hurt._

_I'm still laying on my back, my hands resting at my sides like I'm paralyzed, just allowing him to do whatever he wants to me. He pushes his hips into my side as he leans down to attack my mouth with his tongue again, and I can feel his arousal against my right hand that lays motionless at my side. The hand that's exploring my body never stops it's ministrations and the sweeps across my stomach start to go lower, slowly dipping further and further below the waistband of the boy shorts I'm wearing._

_Everything seems to be happening in slow motion, and it's all so erotic and sensual, I can feel my clit throbbing without even being touched. It's like he's scared to take that final plunge, so I let him know that I want to go to that next step by gently stroking the arousal I can feel next to my hand. I feel him moan into my mouth like he's in pain, but it's seems the gesture has created the desired effect as he undoes the button and zipper on his jeans and releases his cock enough for me to actually grasp it with my hand._

_As I wrap my fingers around him, he appears to want to invade my body on all fronts. His tongue plunges deep into my mouth, as his hips thrust into my hand while his other hand makes the final sweep to its lowest point forcing the boy shorts down and firmly cupping my sex. We both moan at the multiple points of contact, and I raise my hips to allow him to remove my underwear completely._

_His hand returns to my sex and nudges my thighs apart allowing room for his fingers to trace the slick folds. One finger slides inside me and I hum into his mouth while my finger finds the clear fluid I know is seeping from his cock and spreads it over the head before grasping him firmly to pump him a few times._

_We've never taken things this slowly before and it's driving me insane with desire for him. I raise my hips into his hand encouraging him to give me more. I feel a second and then a third finger enter me, and then he makes that hooking motion as he pulls at my g-spot repeatedly. It's all too much for me and I actually let out a scream as my orgasm overtakes me, and I squirt all over his hand. Yes, it's a fact. Women can squirt, and in his capable hands, I've done it often._

_Slow is good, but now I need him. I actually pull him by his erection indicating what I want and need right now. He moves over to kneel between my legs and shimmies his jeans and boxers down to his knees. He leans down over me again brushing his hardness over my sex as he claims my mouth one more time. I lift my legs and find purchase on his jeans, pushing them down the rest of the way._

_He's supporting himself above me with his left arm while his right hand strokes himself with my juices still on his hand, and then he guides himself right to my waiting, throbbing entrance. He pushes slowly, like he's afraid of hurting me, but I raise my hips to engulf him quickly and it's almost too much for both of us. He's laying completely on top of me barely holding his weight off me and the feel of our naked skin in such complete contact makes me want to cry. I've missed this more than I ever would have thought possible._

_He moves slowly, more in a circular motion than in and out and fuck if he's not going to make me come with just this small movement._

"_Close your legs," he whispers in my ear as he moves his legs outside of mine never losing his place within me. We've done this before, and I think it only works because of his length, but god, do I love it. Every inch of him is touching every inch of me as he moves and the friction it's creating on my g-spot is enough to send me over the edge again. He pushes deep and hard to counteract my body's natural action to eject him through my orgasm. As I come back down to earth, he picks up his motions and I can tell he's close too. It's never a marathon like this, but it's so personal and intense, neither of us ever cared. Finally, I feel his body tense as he pushes as far into me as he can, and I feel every pulse of his orgasm as he fills me up. He collapses on top of me breathlessly sucking at my neck._

"_Oh, Bella" he mumbles into my hair._

"_Edward," I say softly as I stroke his back. It's the first time I've said his name that way for a while._

"Bella" I hear my name again, but it doesn't sound like him anymore.

"Edward?" I say again as more of a question this time.

"Bella!" I hear again, and this time I know it's not him. I know that voice, and how the hell she got into bed with me and Edward is beyond me. I feel my body shake and my eyes open slowly to reveal my best friend, Alice, standing over me with a smirk on her face. There's no Edward in my bed. Of course there isn't.

I'm lying in bed looking at my bedside clock that's telling me it's way too early for me to be awake. I don't have to be up for at least another hour, not that I really want to get out of bed anyway when that time does arrive. Today is not a day I'm looking forward to, and now I've got Alice standing over me with a look on her face that say 'uh huh, let's see you explain this'.

"Alice, what are you doing here?" I ask groggily. As I move in my bed, I become aware that some parts of my dream may have been quite real as I feel a decidedly uncomfortable wet spot.

"You know what today is, Bella. There was no way I was going to leave it up to you to get yourself up and ready to go. I know if you had it your way, you'd stay in bed all day and hide. Although from what I walked in on, maybe that _would _be more fun. " She's far too cheerful for this time of the morning. I bet she got some for real last night, and so she's teasing me because she knows I was dreaming about it…about _him._

"Ugh, Alice. Why do I have to go? You know it's going to be awkward as hell, and I'd lay bets _he _is just as unhappy about this as I am." I pause for a moment. "Or maybe not, maybe he's looking forward to finding someone new on one of the rides."

Alice rolls her eyes at me, but then sits down on the bed and rubs my leg. She knows this is hard for me and a part of me really does want to go.

"Bella, I know you don't really mean that. I'm sure he just needs time. Now get your ass out of bed and in the shower. You need to wash that sex dream grime off you, and we need to go play!" she squeals.

I move out of bed, careful to keep the wet spot covered, hiding the evidence of just how good my dream was, and traipse out of my bedroom and down the hall to the bathroom. A shower is just what I need to wash away the thoughts of my dream.

Every year since I was 16 years old, my friends and I have gone to the large amusement park that's not too far away from our little town here in Forks, Washington. This will be our tenth year doing this, it's a big deal. Every year we spend the whole day there laughing and going on rides and teasing each other about the rides that one of the others is scared to go on. Every year we have a blast, because we're all couples and we're all friends. Sorry, correct that, we _were _all couples and friends.

Our little group has been the same since our sophomore year of high school. There's my best friends Alice Brandon and Rosalie Hale. There couldn't be three more different girls that got along so well. Alice is a little pixie with spiky hair to match. She's all spunk and energy and just wants everyone to be as happy as she is all the time, claiming she's 'seen' the time when we're all happy together in the future. Can you see my eyes rolling?

Rosalie is tall with long, blonde hair and a killer body and she knows it. To anyone who doesn't know her, she appears to be a stuck up, conceited bitch, but to us she's sweet and funny. Okay, she's still a bitch, but we love her. Me, I'm just plain old Bella Swan. I've got plain brown hair, plain brown eyes and I'm incredibly clumsy and awkward. Drop a pin on the floor, I guarantee you I will either trip over it or get it stuck in my foot.

Then there's Rosalie's twin brother Jasper who also happens to be Alice's boyfriend, or well, I guess fiancé now. He's as tall and as blonde as Rosalie, but his temperament is so much milder and he always seems to be the calming influence on everyone else. The irony being, the only person he can't seem to calm is Alice, or if he does, I'd hate to think what she'd be like without him around.

Rounding out our gang of six are the Cullen brothers, Emmett and Edward. Emmett was adopted by Dr. Carlisle Cullen and his wife, Esme, as a newborn, as they thought Esme couldn't have children. The day they took Emmett home she discovered she was pregnant with Edward. So there's about 7 months between them.

Emmett is married now to Rosalie and she's four months pregnant. She'll be a bundle of joy at the amusement park today. Her feet will hurt, and her back will ache and Emmett will probably end up carrying her piggyback style for most of the day. Emmett is clearly not biologically a Cullen because he's got dark hair and big muscles, and he's just…big. Carlisle is tall and blonde and slim and Esme is very slight and red headed.

Which brings us to Edward, who is the perfect combination of the two of them. His hair is the most interesting bronze color that in the right light looks like it has blonde highlights. It's completely unruly, and he always looks like he just got out of bed, or really _just got out of bed_, if you know what I mean. He's got the most beautiful green eyes that seem to want to look right into your soul and read all your most intimate thoughts. He's as tall as Carlisle with a very similar build, but with a little more definition to his muscles. He's sensitive and quiet, and loves nothing more than to read a book or play his piano.

Am I going on too much about him? Probably. You see, until about two months ago, we were a couple as well. We had been since our junior year in high school. That's nine years in case you weren't sure how long. NINE FREAKIN' YEARS! Seemed to me that we were headed down the same road as our friends…you know, marriage, kids. We'd had vague conversations about it over the years, but when Jasper and Alice got engaged and Rosalie announced she was pregnant, I brought it up again. Edward freaked on me and the next thing I know, I'm back at my dad, Charlie's house, Edward `'s at our house, yes OUR house, and we're not speaking. Alice is mad at Edward, Emmett's mad at me, Jasper's just trying to keep the peace between everybody, and Rose, well, Rose is just concerned with Rose.

Hence, this annual excursion is going to be interesting. I miss Edward. I still love him. I have no idea if he still loves me, or why he freaked out like he did. All I know is that I have to spend an entire day with him and the two other couples today because it's what we've done every year for ten years! All I want to do is go back to sleep and not get out of bed until this day is over. Of course, Alice would disown me if I did that, and I wouldn't get to see Edward.

We have avoided each other completely over the last two months and have not spoken at all. Anything I needed from the house I either got Alice to retrieve for me, or I went when I knew he wouldn't be there. I want to see him. I want to know that he's all right and not just have his brother tell me he is. Emmett thinks this is all my fault even though he doesn't really know what we're fighting about, at least not from me anyway.

It's all so stupid. I made one comment about Jasper and Alice getting married and Edward flew off the handle. He never said he didn't love me or want to be with me. He just said he needed space to think. I gave him his space and he hasn't asked me back into it. I'm tired of waiting for him to make his move.

I finally feel like I've washed the funk off in the shower, and when I step back into my bedroom, Alice envelops me in a tight hug.

"Everyone's here." She says. "_He's _here." She adds more meaningfully as she skips out of the room to let me get dressed. Ok, time to put a plan into action. I'm going to get Edward to talk to me today, and depending on how things go, we may even be back together by the end of the day. Enough mopey Bella. I'm taking control.

I pull out my best push up bra and matching thong underwear. I've got a great black mini skirt that flows and is not too short or inappropriate for an amusement park. Match that with my white tank top that shows a little too much cleavage and draws you to look at it with the little rhinestones around the neckline. Finish it all off with just a little bit of makeup, my hair blow dried a little on the wild side, and a nice pair of black wedge sandals just high enough to make my legs look great, but just low enough that I won't kill myself or be uncomfortable. Alice, my little shopaholic, fashion goddess will be so proud. I throw my bikini and a towel in my oversize purse and I'm ready to face the masses.

Okay, so maybe I'm just ready to face Edward. I've had enough of this pussyfooting around. I want to have sex again like I did in my dream, and the only one I can imagine doing that with is Edward. Of course, I want us back again too, but I have a more pressing need at the moment. I put my game face on and head downstairs.

Everyone is waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs. Five pairs of eyes are staring at me as I walk down the stairs and straight out the front door. I hear Rose and Alice giggle as Emmett and Jasper make a wolf whistle sound, and then I hear Edward clear his throat like he's choking on something. They all follow me out of the house as I swing my hips in front of all of them.

Oh yes, Bella's got her game face on. Game on, Mr. Cullen.

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**A/N: So there it is. Please hit the little green button down below and give me some love. You can also follow me on Twitter under Cilla_1970.**


	2. 2 Edward Has a Plan

**A/N: Thank you to all the wonderful people who added this story as an alert of favorite. Much love to you, but could you maybe review too? Pretty please. Reviews rock my world!**

**Speaking of rocking my world, my beta and friend Suzie55 does that, and believe me, this chapter not be what it is and make any sense at all without her. Her awesome story Rules of Hollywood is in my favorites. I highly recommend you check it out.**

**I also have to give a shout out to my Twitter girls, BonesBooth4ever and twicrazreader for pimping my story as well as Suzie55 again who is truly the head pimp! Rosearcadia and gossip_bangkok, I love you girls too! Come play with us and Twitter and follow me at Cilla_1970. You may just get teasers and forewarning of postings.**

**I don't own Twilight...blah blah blah...just playing.**

**Onward we go!**

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**For Your Amusement**

**Chapter 2**

**~Edward~**

The shower this morning was as unsatisfactory as it has been for the last two months. I think more so today because I know I'm going to see her. I'm thinking about her even more than I usually do and Edward plus thoughts of Bella equals rampant woody… constantly.

I'm an idiot. Just thought I should get that out there now, before we get too far into this little tale. I, Edward Anthony Cullen, am the biggest idiot there ever was. Here's why:

I had the love of the most amazing girl that ever walked the face of the earth, Isabella Swan. My Bella. For almost 11 years we have done practically everything together, and for nearly ten years, I have been lucky enough to call her my girlfriend. I have a job I love teaching music at the high school we all went to here in Forks. I have a great family, a nice car, and a beautiful house that Bella turned into a home. I still have all those things, except for Bella, and without Bella, the rest is meaningless.

I don't have Bella because I'm a selfish, jealous moron who has been known to pout when he doesn't get his way. Bella knows me and knows what I'm like, and she's always been great at leaving me alone when she knows I need time. She's also been known to put me in my place and tell me to quit acting like a spoiled child.

This time though, I took it too far, I said things I shouldn't have and really didn't mean, and instead of calling me on my idiotic behavior, she left. The things I said were just too hurtful for her to stick around. All she wanted was what I was actually willing to give her, but the circumstances just sent me into a schoolboy tantrum. She wanted a proposal. A proposal that I had been planning, but I couldn't tell her that. Instead I accused her of being needy, manipulative and a bunch of other things I don't even want to think about right now. Alice is right, I'm an ass.

I had to have it on my terms and done in my way. I'm so fucking stubborn that I didn't fix it when I should have. Two months later and I still don't know how to fix it, but I want to so badly. Well, I do have an idea, but I'm not sure if it's too late.

Getting up today is both the easiest and hardest thing I've ever done. The hardest because I know I'll see Bella, and we haven't even talked since she walked out of our house two months ago. The easiest because I know what I want to do and what I want to have happen and I can't wait for it to start.

I dream of Bella every night, and wake up with painful wood every morning. My hand in the shower really doesn't cut it. The jack off session I have almost every night after smelling her pillow like some psycho pervert doesn't help either. Yes, that's how pathetic I am. I haven't washed her pillowcase since she left. It's starting to lose her scent, but I can't bring myself to erase that last little piece of her. Her things have slowly been disappearing from the house over the last month too. It brings me comfort to know she's been in the house, but a real sense of sadness that it's only to pick her things up.

All I want to do is go over to Charlie's, pack all her shit up again and bring everything, and her, back home. I'd marry her tomorrow, and knock her up that very night if I thought that would work. The bottom line is that Bella is the only girl I have loved or will ever love. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, have children with her, and today, I'm going to tell her. It was the plan all along after all, it's just I was the only one who knew that.

"Edward!" I hear being yelled up the stairs. It's my best friend, Jasper. I know he's here to make sure I'm going today on our annual excursion to the amusement park. It's the first trip we've done as a group of six since this whole mess started.

"Jazz, I'm almost ready. Gimme five and I'll be down. There's coffee in the pot if you want it!" I yell from the top of the stairs.

I'm in our bedroom (yes, I still call it 'our' bedroom) trying to figure out what to wear that will both conceal my pleasure in seeing her, and also allow me a little comfort in my discomfort. I opt for a pair of board shorts/swim trunks that are quite loose but have that mesh inside that keeps the meat and two veg at least a little confined, and a loose fitting tank top. You can see the definition in my chest and shoulder muscles, and I know Bella likes my muscles.

I still have a plan, but the timing is now questionable. We'll see how today goes. I throw a change of clothes, a towel and a couple of other things in my knapsack and head downstairs.

Jasper is sitting at my kitchen table sipping a cup of black coffee and reading the newspaper. I greet him with a nod and pour myself a cup of coffee.

"Did you know that 1 out of 5 marriages lasts for 50 years, but 1 out 2 marriages end in divorce in the U.S?" He asks without looking up from the newspaper.

"Yeah, I'd heard that somewhere" I mumble. "Not having second thoughts are you?" I add.

"Me? Hell no! Alice is going into wedding frenzy and insists it will take at least a year to plan. You remember how she was about Rose and Emmett's wedding?" I nod thinking of Hurricane Alice bossing us all around for the best part of a year. "Well, multiply that by a thousand and you get an idea of how she is about her own wedding. I just want to get married, but I'm happy to give her anything she wants, and in the meantime, we get to act like newlyweds all the time." He wiggles his eyebrows at me, which only turns my stomach. I don't like to think about other people having massive amounts of sex. Especially since I'm not, and I could be, were it not for my incredible stupidity.

"Well, Bella and I didn't make it to marriage. It looks like we skipped that part and went straight to divorce." I lament. "Can we go now? The sooner we start, the sooner I can get this day over with and know exactly where the rest of my life is headed."

"Sure we can, but that's a bit overdramatic don't you think, Edward?" His stare bores into the top of my head, as I stare at the floor. I can feel it on me, but I can't look up. "Unless, there's something you're not telling me," he adds, and I still can't look him in the eye.

I let out a huge sigh and pull my knapsack onto the table. After all, if I can't confide in my best friend, whom can I confide in? I open the large compartment and then a smaller zipped pouch inside, and pull out a small velvet box and hand it to Jasper.

"Jeebus H, Edward! You can't go from saying the things you did to proposing the first time you're in the same vicinity as her again! You guys have some serious talking to do." He's practically yelling at me. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to confide in him after all.

"Jasper. I've had that ring for three years, I just never found the right moment to do it right. I wanted it to be epic. I planned to do it at the amusement park today. You know it was our first trip to the amusement park in the summer after our sophomore year that Bella and I actually started dating. That's ten years. I figured the mountain with the waterfall at the park would be a pretty epic place to do it on this trip. It's what I had planned all along." I'm trying to calm him down, but I don't think I'm succeeding. He knows the shit I said to Bella, and I think I've only made him angry.

"Holy fuck, Edward. You can't go from accusing her of the things you did and not speaking to her for two months, to giving her the one thing she wanted and you were fighting about in the first place! Do you realize how fucked up that is?" He was pulling his hands through his blonde locks looking almost as stressed as I felt.

"I know, I know, and I wasn't going to just jump right into it. I think this could be a good day. You are the only one I've ever told about the shit that Bella and I have got up to in that park over the years. We've had some pretty 'epic' moments, and I figured if I could just get her to remember those and we could enjoy each other again today, then maybe when we're watching the fireworks tonight from the mountain, it would be perfect." I hope I sound convincing, because I'm really not sure now.

"Fine, play it your way," Jasper retorts impatiently, "but I am not responsible for what Alice will do to you if this goes pear shaped. Now let's get the fuck out of here. Alice is already at Bella's."

That stung. This is Bella's. Mine and Bella's. That is Charlie's. Semantics I know, but like I said, I can be a childish prick like that.

I grab my knapsack and we head out. Jasper's got Alice's yellow Porsche. He must have dropped her off and then come to get me. We travel the two miles or so to Charlie's house in silence and we arrive at the same time as my brother, Emmett, and his wife, Rosalie. I'm pleased to see he opted for board shorts and a tank top as well. Must be a Cullen thing.

I can hear her whining already about an aching back and swollen ankles. You'd think she was going into labor any minute instead of just four months pregnant. I know that's a really asshole guy thing to say, and maybe if it was Bella I'd be more sympathetic. Fuck that, I know I would, but this is Rosalie and I just know she's playing it up to make Emmett follow her around even more like a lost stray than he normally does.

Once inside the house, we all stand around inside the door at the bottom of the stairs. Alice comes skipping down the stairs with a look on her face I can't quite interpret and kisses Jasper on the cheek while whispering something in his ear, and he chuckles. She greets Rosalie and Emmett in a similar fashion with cheek kisses and whispers in their ears, and then she turns to me and I'm not sure what I'm going to get.

Even though Jasper is my best friend, he's tried to remain fairly neutral through this whole thing. Alice on the other hand, has been firmly planted in Bella's corner and has said hardly three civil words to me in two months. I know it's been tough on Jasper too trying to placate the little pixie, and he does have a way of calming everyone. I hope he's having an effect on Alice. I'd hate to think what she'd be like with me if he didn't.

"Edward," she says rather stiffly, but she's got a smile on her face and she air kisses my cheek. No whispers. It's a start, I guess. "Bella's just getting dressed. She'll be down in a sec."

We all stand around in the foyer with the front door open, shuffling a little nervously, when Bella appears on the stairs. All our eyes are on her, and holy fuck if my jaw isn't stuck to the floor. Her legs seem to go on for miles in that skirt with those heels, and that tank top is my favorite. I like counting the rhinestones. It allows me an excuse to poke at her breasts. She's got that wild blow dried hair thing going on too. She knows I love that look on her. I'm in my own private hell that I created, and now she's making sure I can't leave it. She's torturing me. Well played, Miss Swan.

As she gets to the bottom of the stairs, she looks at everyone and continues out the door. Emmett and Jasper wolf whistle at her as Alice and Rosalie just giggle. I feel Jasper pat me on the back.

"Uh yeah, dude. Looks like someone else has an agenda today as well." He whispers and I cough like I've just choked on something. We all follow behind Bella watching her swing her hips as she heads to Emmet's H3.

Once we get to the vehicle a terrifying realization occurs to me. Although this truck is huge, it actually only seats five comfortably, but it is the biggest vehicle any of us own. There are bucket seats in the front that obviously Emmett and Rose will be sitting in, but there are actually only three seats and seatbelts in the back. The others all seem to have come to the same realization as me and we all stand around shuffling nervously wondering what to do next. My good old buddy, Jasper, comes to the rescue.

"Okay, this is cool. Alice can sit on my lap behind Rosalie." He grins mischievously at Alice who swats him playfully "Bella you can go in the middle and Edward you go behind Emmett."

Thank you, Jasper. The tension now relieved somewhat, we all pile in. Emmett helps Bella up. That skirt really isn't conducive to climbing into a Hummer, even if it is a little one, but the view I get as Emmett hoists her in, confirms that my decision to wear the board shorts was a good one. This is going to be a long ride.

Once we're all in, Emmett starts the beast up and we head out on our journey. It takes about an hour to get to the park, and I'm hoping that conversation will flow with the others to keep the spotlight off Bella and I.

Our legs are touching in the back and the heat generating between us is driving me insane. Bella seems to sense it too as she pulls her leg away to avoid the contact, but then realizes that she'll be really uncomfortable if she has to hold that pose for the whole trip and gives in. I wouldn't want to lean too close into Jasper and Alice in that position either.

The conversation does pick up with Rose talking about her morning sickness. Lovely. The girls seem interested and sympathetic, but Jasper, Emmett and I exchange eye-rolling glances through the rear view mirror.

There is an awkward moment when the conversation turns to Alice and Jasper's wedding. Rosalie and Alice are chatting at a speed that is hard to keep up with and Bella seems to be zoning out a little and about to doze off. Then it happens.

"Alice, you made me have five bridesmaids and five groomsmen. You said it wasn't a wedding party unless there was at least ten people in it. So, how can you say you're only having us four involved?" Rosalie seems kind of annoyed at Alice's change of heart for her own wedding.

"Well, I was thinking and I really don't have anybody else really close to me or Jazz that I would want in my wedding party. I just want my two favorite couples to be a part of it, and everyone else can just be normal guests." Alice explains it quite simply, but she doesn't seem to realize what she's said as all eyes turn to me, and Bella's eyes snap open.

The awkward silence that follows seems to tip Alice off to her faux pas and she starts to stammer her apologies. Very un-Alice like.

"Oh, wow, umm, sorry. Yeah, uh…well when I was planning this in my head, everyone _was _a couple," Alice begins. Bella's biting her lip and looking at her hands in her lap. Fuck, she's cute when she does that.

Alice continues, "and besides, if you, Edward, hadn't been such a total ass, we wouldn't even be worrying about saying the wrong things, because you and Bella would still be together and we'd be planning your wedding too!" Ah, now that's more like the Alice I know. She can't resist an opportunity to get a dig in at me somehow, but I'm not taking it lying down this time.

"Alice, would you just…" I was going to take the opportunity to say something profound about how I know I messed up and I'm going to fix it. Nothing like a public declaration, right? But I'm interrupted.

"Stop!" Bella yells, and her cheeks are flushed. "Please just…stop. Can we just have a nice day out and enjoy each others' company?" Her voice is a bit shaky and I want to reach over and rub her thigh or hold her hand to give her support like I used to. I start to raise my hand to do just that, but then think better of it. Bella seems to be a little bit surer of herself as she continues.

"I'm sorry that this is so awkward for all of you, because you know, it's not awkward for Edward and me at all." There's my Bella, dripping with sarcasm. "So to make things easier, I have a proposal." Jasper shoots a glare at me, and I give him the 'knock it off and don't make it obvious' glare. Bella turns directly to me. "Edward, what do you say we call a truce for today? No yelling, no arguing, no making everyone else feel bad. Deal?"

I think that's fine with me since we haven't yelled since the night it all went down anyway. Haven't spoken at all actually. We're both to blame for that, but the proposal precludes me from pointing that out.

"Fine with me," I say simply.

"Great, let's shake on it," she says and extends her hand to me. I take it, but once I've got it in mine, I'm on sensory overload and I just want to keep hold of it and run my thumb over the back of it, and lace our fingers together and then…ok, back to reality. She shakes my hand firmly, and in my head at least, she seems to linger a little bit in the grasp and I think I see a glimmer of a coy smile. This could be a good day after all.

We all sit in silence for a while, but it's not really awkward anymore. Everyone seems to just be taking a breath so we can start fresh. Well, except for Jasper and Alice who seem to be doing anything but taking a breath as their faces are stuck together. It probably wasn't a good idea to have Alice sit on his lap for an hour and a half. I get it. I'd have trouble keeping it PG if Bella was on my lap for more than five minutes.

"So what's everyone looking forward to going on?" Emmett asks into the rearview mirror to break the silence, and it draws Jasper and Alice out of whatever it was they were in and of course, Alice is the first to answer.

"Oh, oh, well I thought we'd do our usual routine. Once we get inside, we'll go to the little café by the main gate and get some breakfast and coffee. Then we'll head out to the main fountains and try to catch one of those annoying people taking pictures of everyone like we always do, and then we should go through the Medieval part first because that's always the quietest in the morning. Everybody starts on the other side where all the huge roller coasters are and …"

We all start laughing because it's just so typically Alice to A) remember all the details of previous trips and B) plan the day for everyone without consulting us on what we want.

"Well, count me out of any roller coasters today" Rose contributes, tacitly acknowledging that we will all follow Alice's plan by her lack of argument against it.

"That leaves me out too then" adds Emmett. "I can't let my Rosie sit on her own."

Rose gives a sickly sweet smile and leans over to kiss his cheek while he's driving. Ugh, if I have to watch these two couples suck face all day, I'm going to hang myself, or worse just grab Bella and stick my tongue down her throat like I want to do anyway. Probably wouldn't go over well with Bella, but just the thought of doing that once again makes me grateful for the stupid mesh inside my shorts. Brilliant invention that.

Bella seems to realize what two people sitting out of roller coaster riding means, and of course I do too. We'll have to sit together since we won't go on our own. I think she was secretly hoping that she'd get to go with Emmett since we all knew that Rose would be sitting out most of the rides.

"Emmett, Rose is a big girl, she can sit and wait for us. You have to do at least one of the coasters with me. You're so much fun to watch," Bella says. She's leaning forward between Rose and Emmett to make this plea leaving space behind her. My hand falls to the seat, my arm tired from being forced to stay in my lap this whole trip.

Bella's finished pleading with Emmett and scoots back right onto my hand. It's now trapped between the back of the seat and Bella's ass and the temptation to just squeeze is too overwhelming to ignore, so I do…just a little. Bella lets out a quiet gasp and turns to look at me with a look of what I first think is anger, but then I recognize as something different. I've seen both this look and the angry look and I've seen this one waaayyyy more. She liked that.

Before I can think to respond in any way to what has just silently passed between us, Emmett announces that we've arrived. I remove my hand and fumble for my wallet in my knapsack to give money for parking. Once we're parked we all tumble out of the car and this time, Bella accepts my hand for help out.

We gather all our stuff together and start to walk to the main gate. Bella and Alice are walking ahead arm in arm giggling about something and Rose is trying to keep up. Jasper and Emmett are following close behind. I'm following up the rear in deep contemplation.

Bella and I haven't spoken a word to each other in two months except that brief exchange in the car. The first month she wouldn't take my phone calls. She had good reason, she was mad. The second month I didn't take hers just because I was mad she didn't take mine.

Now, here today, it's like she's waving a flag over her head saying 'Come and get me, if you still want me'. We've got a shitload of talking to do and I have a plan for that, but maybe, just maybe, we are on the same page and my day is going to turn out just fine after all.

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**A/N Please let me know what you think. Reviews really do inspire!**


	3. 3 Confrontations

**A/N: I don't own Twilight or the amusement park this is based on. I don't know if there is a good amusement park in NW Washington, but my park is based on one near me. The ride names and general layout are from that park. There may or may not be some coincidence between events that take place in this park later on, and experiences I had as a teenager there.**

**I cannot even begin to express the thanks I owe to Suzie55 for this chapter. See talked me down off the ledge more than once and made it so much prettier than it would have been without her. So to show your appreciation to her, please go read her story The Rules of Hollywood, it's in my favorites.**

**I was supposed to post this tomorrow, but I couldn't wait, so you get the benefit of my impatience.**

**Hi to all my Twitter girls who encourage me as well. Come follow me, Cilla_1970 and you'll find out what great gals (and guys) I hang out with. **

**Thanks for reading and please, please, please review!**

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**Chapter 3 – Confrontations**

**~Bella~**

The car ride was interesting. I found a way to ease the awkwardness a bit by calling a truce between me and Edward Just holding onto his hand for that brief handshake made my whole body tingle. I thought I saw the start of a smirk on his face, which almost made me smile too. However, I'm not giving anything away for free. He was a jerk and said some horrible things to me. I'll take him back if he asks, but not before some serious groveling. The ass grab was a surprise, but not unwelcome. It let me know he's in the game.

As soon as we left the car, Alice grabbed a hold of me and started marching me off to ask what happened. I told her there wasn't really anything to tell except an ass grab that she got all giggly over. I felt a momentary pang of guilt that Rose wasn't being included in our girly moment, but soon got over it, just like Rose would.

Now, we are all in separate lines at the gate to purchase our tickets to see which one moves faster. Every year, we have a mini competition to guess who will win. All bets are on Alice this year since she's managed to do it six out of the last nine trips. This year is ten and no one sees any reason why Alice and her freaky ability to predict what's coming next would be wrong this year.

Edward is in the line next to me, and we seem to be moving at about the same pace. We're both about three people from the front of the line. We're playing a 'catch-me-looking-at-you-game'. When I look at him, he looks away like he wasn't just staring at me, and when my gaze stays on him, and he finally looks back to me, I look away and pretend I wasn't just staring at him. After a couple of minutes of this adolescent game, reminiscent of the first time we came here and it took Edward all day to actually ask me to be his girlfriend, our eyes finally meet and lock.

Back then, we had a mere year of friendship and a couple of fumbled attempts at making out at parties behind the shared glances. There was coyness on my part and a nervous, uncharacteristic shyness on his, but there was an understanding between us that our relationship would be redefined that day.

Now we have a decade of love and passion behind us, combined with two months of radio silence. With this glance, I try to convey my hurt, my anger, my love and my hope. I see all those emotions mirrored back at me in his eyes, along with what I can only describe as deep regret. The understanding between us today is that we have some work to do to fix this, and that we will be well on our way, by the end of the day.

It feels like we've been staring at each other for an eternity and that someone should say something. Edward is the first to try this time.

"Bella, I am…," he begins, but is quickly interrupted by Alice yelling. How does she do that? Her timing is impeccable and annoying as ever.

"Hey guys! I'm there! I win again, so get over here!" she screams over eight lanes of people. We all move from our respective lanes to hers, and the moment with Edward is lost…for now.

It's just 9 a.m. and the park has just opened. The main courtyard feature is a huge display of fountains and gardens that lead up to the main icon of the park, a huge plastic mountain that stands about 200 ft high with a waterfall that cascades down. During the day there are periodic shows of stunt performers diving from the top of the waterfall. I get dizzy watching them. You can also walk through the mountain behind the waterfall. On each side of the large fountain pool there are shops and restaurants that resemble a village street.

Only the main courtyard and restaurants are open at the moment. The rides don't open until 10 a.m. Once inside, we make our way over to the first restaurant on the right hand side with a little patio. They do the best breakfasts here, and the guys automatically head inside to get our usual fare while we girls grab a table outside.

I should go in and get my own since it's not really Edward's job any more, but I know he'll bring me exactly what I want. Call it step 1 on his path to atonement.

The guys come back with trays of food for all of us. Jasper's got yogurt, a bagel, and a smoothie for Alice, and a huge breakfast sandwich for himself. Emmett has a muffin and a fruit salad for Rose and, what looks like a selection of everything the restaurant has to offer for him. Damn that boy can eat. The four of them begin a steady chatter as they start eating their food. Edward places two full breakfasts on the table in front of the two of us. He has sausage and white toast with scrambled eggs while mine has bacon and whole wheat toast. There's a large orange juice and an empty cup.

When he sets the plates down, I take one of the sausages off his plate and give him a slice of my bacon. He takes a piece of whole wheat toast off my plate and gives me a slice of his white bread. I take the cup of orange juice and pour half of it into the empty cup. He takes the various jams and peanut butter packets off the tray and divides them equally between us.

As Edward and I finally settle to start eating our meals, I become aware that it's gotten very quiet at the table. I look up to see four pairs of eyes staring at us in amazement.

"What?" I ask with some annoyance.

"That was soooo cute!" squeals Alice.

"What are you guys staring at?" Edward asks, seeming as annoyed and confused as I am.

"Dude, you and Bella just did your whole sharing the breakfast ritual thing that you guys do," explains Emmett.

"Just kind of caught us off guard, I guess, you know, under the circumstances," Jasper contributes awkwardly.

"Whatever, that's their 'thing'," adds Rosalie with mild disinterest.

Edward and I look at our friends and then each other. Neither of us had realized that we had fallen into a ritual that we practice quite often with our meals, trading off each others' plates. Our eyes lock and I see a familiar twinkle in his beautiful green eyes and a smirk start to appear on his face.

"Old habits, I guess," he says nonchalantly and goes back to eating his breakfast. Everyone goes back to eating and the chatter continues. Then my day just gets a whole lot more interesting.

"Hey guys!" a familiar voice shouts across the patio, and the next thing I know, there are three tall native American men approaching our table. I can see Edward visibly tense. I think I even hear a growl emit from his throat.

"Jacob!" I say with all the surprise that I feel. "Paul, Embry, nice to see you guys too. What are you doing here?" I try not to make it sound like an accusation, but this is not what I need right now…of all the days for them to come here!

"The kids were bouncing off the walls to come," says Paul, indicating to the far side of the patio. I see three children sitting with Paul and Embry's wives, who are trying to get them to eat some food. "It wouldn't be a trip to the park without Uncle Jake, so he tagged along as well." Paul nudges Jake playfully, and then makes his exit back to their table taking Embry with him.

"It's good to see you, Bells," Jake says quietly. "Do you think I could talk to you for a second?"

"Jake, I really don't think…" I start to say, but he interrupts me.

"Please, Bella. There's something I have to say to you. I've been meaning to come by and see you." Although he's pleading, I still don't want to go with him because I can feel waves of fury coming off Edward. I need a chaperone and maybe a mediator if I'm going to do this, so I catch Jasper's attention and indicate for him to come with me. He's the best one for this situation. He's relatively impartial, at least outwardly, and he'll help calm my nerves. I know he's also the only one, besides Edward and I, that knows the full circumstances of our current situation, since he told me Edward confided in him. He understands immediately and gives me a short nod.

"Fine!" I say, after a long, uncomfortable pause. No one's talking at our table anymore as they watch this scene play out. Jasper arises from the table at the same time as me. We walk just out of earshot of the table.

"Bella, I wanted to do this in private," he says, sulkily.

"Jake, I don't want to be alone with you, no offense, but things are just better like this. I don't trust you. You can say anything to me in front of Jasper. It won't go any further, unless I tell him it can," I explain.

"Bella, why don't I just stand off here a bit to give you some privacy? I'll still be able to hear what you say, but it just might be less awkward." This is why I love Jasper. He just _knows _the right thing to do. He stands about three or four feet to the side with his back to us pretending to look anywhere, but back at us.

There's what seems to be an eternity of silence before Jacob finally speaks, and in that moment of silence he's staring at me. It's like he's trying to remind me of all the years we've been friends through this one look.

_You see, I've known Jake since I was four years old. It may even be before that, but four is my first real recollection of Charlie taking me to the Quileute Reservation in La Push to visit his friend Billy on one of my summer stays with him. I was living with my mom, Renee, in Phoenix, but I'd spend every summer and every other Christmas with Charlie_.

_Charlie was the Chief of Police and spent a lot of time with Billy when he wasn't working, and when he was working, Billy looked after me. It meant that pretty much as many hours in a day I was awake each summer were spent with Billy's son, Jacob, and sometimes asleep too when Charlie had to go into work at night. _

_Jake was a year younger than me, but that didn't matter, we played together well as kids and rode our bikes all over the Reservation. He was my best friend. I didn't have anyone in Phoenix that I was as close to as him. When I was thirteen and he was twelve, we shared our first kiss. It was more to just get it over with and be able to say we'd done it, but to me it really felt like kissing my brother. That kiss is definitely in the top five most awkward moments of my life._

Jake saw it a little differently and the change in his behavior towards me after the kiss made me a little uncomfortable. He wanted more and I most definitely did not. I didn't go back to Forks another summer after that until I moved here permanently after my freshman year of high school. I saw Jake that summer and we hung out a bit, but I could tell that his feelings hadn't changed. I really wanted him just to be my friend. Over the summer, we did become close as friends again, but once school started, he went to the school on the Reservation and I started at Forks High.

_Alice was the first one I met and she was best friends with Rosalie. We quickly became a threesome. Rosalie was already dating Emmett, Edward was his brother so he was around a lot and Jasper was Edward's best friend and Rosalie's brother. We formed a tight little group of six and pretty soon Jasper and Alice were dating as well. That left me and Edward as odd one's out. We started hanging out on our own a lot and it was easy and comfortable._

_I still saw Jake every now and then, and we seemed to have come to an understanding. We would only ever be friends. We would talk about our various crushes and how they were going. My conversation often centered around Edward, as I'd started having feelings for him. Jake always tried to make Edward look bad by talking about all the girls he was dating, and how Edward soon wouldn't have time for me if he settled with a serious girlfriend. Jake often tried to insinuate that _he_ wouldn't settle with a serious girlfriend until it was me. _

_On the other hand, Edward always seemed to be in a horrible mood when I would go visit Jake. He'd say stuff like, 'I don't think his intentions are honorable towards you'. I mean seriously, what fifteen year old you know says stuff like that? It did make me feel good that he wanted to be protective of me, and I often imagined that it was more than that. It's true he had dated a few of the girls in our class, but never for more than a couple of dates. Our friends were always making comments about us being together because they were and both of us just brushed it off as not a good enough reason to get together. That was the biggest reason why I never talked to Alice or Rosalie about Edward. I knew they couldn't be objective about it. But, deep down, I wished that Edward would stand up and say, 'Bella, I want to be with you, not because we should to keep our friends happy, but because I like you and I want to.'_

_Even after a couple of parties, where we both got drunk and ended up making out because everybody else was, things were always back to normal on Monday morning. Both of us awkward and professing how sorry we were for crossing the line of friendship, and stating that it was the drink that made us do it._

_So, that's how my sophomore year went. Edward in one ear going all Mr. Bennett on me aboutand appropriate suitors whenever I mentioned Jake, and Jake in the other going all Duckie-I'm-your-best friend-but-in-love-with-you and telling me Edward was all wrong for me._

_They'd never even met and they hated each other because of me. When they finally did meet, it all came to a head._

_At the end of the school year, there was a huge gathering at First Beach on the Reservation. Our whole gang was going and Jake was coming because it was on 'his turf' as he put it. The night was fun with a big fire and some drinking and music. I'd managed to keep Jake and Edward separate from each other and spent some time with each of them. Edward seemed a little out of sorts that night and wasn't his usual flirty self with the other girls. He stayed very close to me all night. I couldn't say I minded. My feelings for him were growing by the day. It's like there was always an attraction there, and I'd always felt drawn to him, but I was never sure if it was because of our friends pushing us because of their relationships._

_The six of us were standing around the fire with some of our other friends. I was standing with Edward and we were facing each other talking when he stopped and looked over my shoulder and let out what can only be described as a growl. I suddenly felt a large pair of arms wrap around me from behind and squeeze me tightly, and then I felt a warm pair of lips on my cheek. Edward's whole posture changed. The look in his eyes was one I neither recognized, nor liked. I turned my head to see Jacob towering behind me._

"_There's, my Bella," he said, stepping to the side of me and keeping his arm around me. "Aren't you going to introduce me to your friends?" he said with a cockiness I wasn't used to hearing from him. _

"_Uh sure," I answered, uncomfortably, shrugging his hand off my shoulder, "but I'm not _your _Bella, Jake." I don't know why I felt the need to say that, but I looked at Edward and I saw him relax a little and try to contain a smirk. I introduced Jake to everyone. Edward and Jake shook hands, but stood staring at each other for a long time._

"_You'll always be _my _Bella," Jake said, still holding Edward's hand and staring at him._

"_I think Bella said she _wasn't _yours," Edward commented calmly as he released Jake's hand. Something was very different about Edward's demeanor that night._

"_I was just getting ready to take Bella home," Edward said out of nowhere. I looked at him quizzically, but didn't say anything. "Let's go, Bella," he said, grabbing my hand._

"_Doesn't look like she wants to go with you, man," Jake offered, standing straighter to show he was taller than Edward. Edward let go of my hand and took a step towards Jake. It really looked like they were going to fight…over me!_

"_Oh, for fuck sake!" Rose yelled, looking at both of them. "Why don't you guys just whip them out, measure them, and the winner can pee on her!" Everyone laughed a little and the tension was eased to a degree, but there was a lot of shuffling of feet._

"_Bella, if I can't take you home, can I at least have a word with you in private for a moment?" Edward asked in his low, velvety voice. He took my hand gently this time and I followed him willingly with everyone, including Jake, looking on._

_We walked about twenty yards down the beach hand in hand and then he stopped and turned to face me. I looked up at him waiting for him to say something._

"_Bella, I don't like the way _he _looks at you," he started, "it's like he thinks of you as something to eat. I can almost hear what he's thinking and it makes me want to choke him." He was almost shaking he was so angry._

"_Edward, please calm down," I said, stroking his arm, "I have never thought of Jake like that. I know he has feelings for me, but they are not reciprocated in that way. Although, I do care about him as a friend and I value him as one."_

"_But don't you see? He will always be like this. His feelings for you will always get in the way of being your friend. He will chase anyone interested in you away until there's no one left, but him." He was waving his arms and raising his voice and I could see Jake start to take steps towards us. Emmett grabbed his arm and held him back and I refocused my attention on Edward._

"_How is what you're doing any different than Jake, Edward?" I snapped. "You constantly tell me Jake's not right for me and no one at school has the balls to come near me because you're always around. So tell me, Edward, what's the difference? Oh wait, I know! _YOU _have never given me any indication that you have any feelings for me at all, other than a convenient make out buddy, when the mood strikes you. Even then, you're usually drunk." I was now shaking and on the verge of tears._

_I didn't know what else I could say, but I didn't have to say anything as Edward took two steps toward me and enveloped me in the warmest, tightest hug he had ever given me. When we separated, he looked down at me and lifted my chin with his finger, and placed the slowest, sweetest lingering chaste kiss on my lips. My eyes fluttered closed as I savored the kiss. When we finally broke, I heaved a sigh._

"_You're right," he said softly. "I am no better than him, in fact I'm worse. At least he had the balls to put himself out there, but that doesn't mean I like him or will ever like him. He is a direct threat to me, Bella, because I _do _have feelings for you. I always have, but I need to take a step back and figure things out. I will talk to you tomorrow when we go to the amusement park, ok?" He stepped back and started to turn to walk away. I glanced back to all our friends and noticed Jake turning to walk in the other direction, and Alice jumping up and down clapping her hands. Everyone had seen Edward kiss me, and he wasn't drunk, and it wasn't a sloppy make out kiss._

_I nodded at Edward not sure what to say. If I'd known, I'm not sure I could have said anything. Edward stopped walking and turned back to me again._

"_Go back to the group. I'll text Jasper to make sure you get home safe. Make no mistake, Bella. If you're anybody's, you're _mine." _And then he was gone. We took our first trip to the amusement park as a group the next day, and you already know how that ended. Can you see me smiling?_

Jake may have wanted me to remember him with his stare, but all it served to do was remind me of Edward, and how it has always been Edward. I resolve right then how I am going to handle this no matter what Jake has to say.

"Spit it out, Jake." I spit, "I don't have all day. We have rides to get to." We don't as they're not open yet, but he's pissing me off with his silence.

He sighs heavily, "Bella, I thought you and Edward were done…I mean after what happened and what he saw and what he said. How could you go back to him?" Yes, I definitely know how I'm going to handle this now. Jake doesn't know what the situation is between me and Edward right now.

"Jake, Edward told me a long time ago that you would never respect our friendship and that your feelings for me would always get in the way. He reminded me of that over and over again over the years, as you constantly disrespected him and our relationship. I used to defend you and say that you would never do anything to threaten my relationship with him on purpose, that you cared for me as a friend. But that night, you ruined my world, and you didn't care enough to set the record straight then and you still haven't now. You let it all happen. You let him watch me leave. You let him believe that everything he thought he saw was true and you let him say all those hateful things to me _knowing _they weren't true. So Jake, you wanted to speak to me. What could you possibly have to say that makes all of this better?" I wasn't upset when I started speaking, but by the time I had gotten everything out, I was seething.

"I love you, Bella. Since I knew what love was, I've loved you. I know what I did was bad and I am really sorry it hurt you. But I'm not sorry it broke you and Edward up. He's not right for you, Bells. It's me you should be with. Think how happy Charlie and Billy would be. Please just give us a chance." I see Jasper turn around with a bewildered look on his face, but when he sees me look at him, he turns back around again.

I let out a huff, like I can't believe what I'm hearing, which I can't. I'm not sure what hurts more at this moment. The fact that Jake is not sorry for what he did or that I hurt Edward constantly by defending Jake over the years when he was right all along. I never dreamed that Jake would be so devious, bordering on psychotic over me.

"I can't believe you're doing this here, of all places, Jake. Even if Edward and I were broken up, which we're not," I see Jasper spin his head around again, and I tell him with my eyes to 'ssh', "I could never be with you now, ever. I could never be with anyone who claims to have my best interests at heart, when truly they only act with their own interests in mind and completely disregard who gets hurt in the process, _including _the person they profess to love in the first place. I don't love you in that way, Jake. I never have, and at this moment, I don't think I love you in any way. We are done, and if you come near me or my family…" I gesture to the table of my friends, "…again, I will have a restraining order put on you. Yes, Jake, these people are my family. Edward and I will be married one day, and nothing you say or do will stop that. Now please, go, leave me alone. I don't want to speak with you again." Jasper has now turned around to face us with his arms crossed, willing Jake to try something. Thankfully Jake doesn't and walks off back to Paul and Embry. Jasper can see I'm shaking and pulls me into a tight hug. I know he's got some things to say. He's heard some things that I don't think he knew. He knew what happened from Edward, not from me.

"Bella, how did you let it get this far?" he whispers in my ear. "Why didn't you just tell Edward and all of us the truth? This could all have been cleared up, and you and Edward would be happy."

I pull back to look at him and try to hold back the tears as I explain. "Jasper, I shouldn't have had to tell Edward it wasn't true. He should have trusted _me_ and believed _me._ Instead, after years of telling me not to trust Jake, that's exactly what Edward did. He believed and trusted Jake over me. That's the part that we need to work on and talk about." I smile weakly at him and he hugs me again.

"But, you could have told anyone of us and we would have talked to him," he pleads.

"I needed to do it myself. I can't rely on you guys to fight my battles for me, especially with Edward."

There's a brief silence as he stands there hugging me.

"So, you're getting married, huh? Isn't that what started this in the first place?" he chuckles.

"Yeah, but I know that we will, we just need to talk, and I need to make Edward feel bad for a little longer. I know he overreacted for a reason, and my guess is that I pre-empted a plan he already had going. I can read that boy like a book, and he doesn't like it when someone tries to change his plans. You know that. He turns into a petulant child who hasn't got his way. It just got way out of control. I never meant to be at Charlie's for this long. I'm going to fix it today, Jasper, but Edward has to do his part too." I can feel Jasper's chest move like he's really laughing now, and I'm not sure what in everything I just said is funny. "Could you go back to the table first and just tell Edward to go with whatever I do in the next five minutes and not ask questions? Jake is still staring, I can feel it. I need to make a point."

"Sure, Bella," he says, as he kisses my hair, let's go and walks back to the table. I stand there for a moment waiting to see Jasper whisper to Edward, and then I walk back.

When I get to the table, everyone is quiet and Edward is just looking at me. I can see how tense he is so I put my hand on his head and run my hand through his hair. I can also still feel Jake's eyes on me. I know what I'm about to do is all shades of wrong in our present circumstance, but I can't help myself. I pull Edward's head back gently, lean down, and place a long, slow kiss to his lips. He's remains tense at first, clearly confused, but then I feel him relax as he processes what Jasper must have said to him. His hand comes around me, resting on the small of my back and rubbing gently. He returns the kiss, slowly opening his mouth as our tongues mingle for the first time in a while. It feels like we're kissing forever, before I finally pull away, and move to whisper in his ear. It takes me a moment to form the words as I process what the kiss has done to me. Kissing Edward is like licking a 9 volt battery. My tongue tingles and my body is buzzing.

"I know that was wrong, but it was for Jake's benefit. Please trust me, this time. We need to talk and we will fix this. I love you." I release him and look into his eyes. He doesn't say anything, but nods.

Our friends are staring open-mouthed at us, but I don't care at this point. Emmett is the one who finally breaks the silence.

"Well, fuck, I knew this day was going to be interesting, but damn!" he laughs. Everyone joins in as they stand from the table. We pack up to leave the patio and I look back at Jake who is still staring at me. I slip my hand into Edward's as we walk away and he gives me a small smile.

Once we're out of sight of the patio, I let go of Edward's hand and walk up beside Alice.

"So, Ali! Lead us to our first adventure!" I yell.

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**A/N: Next chapter EPOV. How did Edward finally let Bella know he cared for her on their first trip? What did he think he saw during their big fight two months ago? What did he say to hurt Bella so badly? What does he think of what just happened? If you want answers to these questions, please review. When I know the answer, I'll send you a teaser...hehe**


	4. 4 What Started It All

**A/N: Twilight is owned by Stephenie Meyer, not me...blah blah blah**

**So, did you see Eclipse yet? I've seen it twice already...need more.**

**Special thanks as always go to my amazing friend and beta Suzie55. She doesn't just fix the commas and stupid spelling mistakes, she just makes the story better. I love her, and you should show her your appreciation for my story by reading hers. The Rules of Hollywood is in my favorites, and coming soon...Welcome to Paradise...so excited.**

**I've got a couple of contest entries coming up...one solo and one collaboration. Once I figure out just what the anonymity rules are, I'll point you to them.**

**So lets see what these crazy kids are up to now, shall we?**

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**Chapter 4 – What Started It All**

**~Edward~**

There are moments in your life when you think you are in a dream and things are going so badly, you really hope it's a nightmare and you'll wake up and it will all be over. That is how I felt about the last two months of my life without Bella. I repeatedly replayed everything I said to her the night she left. I kicked myself every time I remembered how I had not spoken when I should have and later when I would not let her speak. I didn't let her explain any of what had happened or what I had seen at the house. We should have sat down and talked the day after, she didn't take my calls. I was too much of a pussy to forget the damn phone and just go to Charlie's and talk to her in person. Things just got out of control from there. It is true what they say, that the longer you put something off, the worse it will be when you finally deal with it.

Time has calmed me down, and I know deep down that what I originally thought happened that night did not. I do need to hear it from Bella though. She owes me that. Regardless, what I do or do not think about what happened at the house, does not excuse how I acted at Alice and Jasper's engagement party on the beach.

_~Flashback – 2 months~_

_We were all so happy when Jasper finally asked Alice to marry him. It was inevitable as was her answer, which led to more discussions of what else was inevitable._

_The party on the beach at La Push included many of our friends from high school, and we were having a great time reminiscing about the good old days and all the other moments we had had on that beach. A little way down the beach, Jacob and some of his friends were having their own campfire. It made my blood boil just having him near. He had been a constant cause of disagreement in our relationship from the very beginning. I knew he wanted to be more than 'friends' which Bella always insisted they were._

_Bella reminded me of the declaration I made to her the day before I asked her to be my girlfriend back in high school, and then she went a step further._

"_It would be so romantic and really symbolic if you asked me to marry you here on this beach," she said innocently._

_I was already reliving the showdown Jacob and I had that night in my head. He had forced my hand with Bella then when I was not quite ready to declare my feelings to her, and now with that memory fresh, I felt like she was forcing my hand with the proposal. It was not as if I was not going to propose, I just had to have the right place, the right time, the right…everything. I did not think La Push was it. In my twisted mind, it felt like Jacob was having a say in this._

"_What?" I replied harshly._

"_Nothing," she answered hesitantly, "I was just thinking that when you propose, this is one of the places it could be." She clearly sensed how unhappy I was with this suggestion._

"_Huh, well. Don't you think, _I _should be the one to decide when, where and _if _I propose?" I snapped._

_She stood up and glared at me and I knew I'd hurt her feelings, but me being the stubborn dick I am, I didn't feel the need to apologize at that moment. It was one of those, stop-rewind-say-what-you-should-have, moments that I did not take, because I am an ass, and I deserve everything that came after._

"_I didn't realize it was an 'if'," she said through glossy eyes. "I'm sorry if I assumed that nearly ten years together, a house and joint bank accounts was going to lead to marriage!"_

"_Well, you know what assuming does," I retorted viciously._

"_You know what, Edward. _You _are being an asshole. I'm leaving," she spat, as she walked off down the beach towards Jacob and his friends. _

_The man in me wanted to go after her, apologize, and tell her there was nothing I wanted more than to marry her and start a family. The petulant child in me wanted to stand there, stamp my foot, and sulk for having my plans ruined. Sadly, the petulant child won._

_I watched as she drew closer to Jacob's group and when she got there she threw her arms around Jacob's neck and he hugged her tightly. I was seething, but frozen in place. Before I could even think to move from my spot, Jacob had released her, said something to her quite animatedly, and pulled her off by the hand to the cars. All my worst fears were coming true right before my eyes. In my mind, she had chosen Jacob over me, even though I had done nothing to stop her. _

There are also moments in your life when you think you are in a dream and things are going so well, you hope you never wake up. You would be quite content to live in that blissful bubble for the rest of your life. That is how I am feeling when Bella kisses me after talking to Jacob.

It takes every ounce of self-restraint I have not to get up and pummel the living shit out of Jacob for coming up to the table like this. I'll give the fucker credit for having some balls, but that's it. The only thing that stops me from doing anything when Bella agrees to talk to him is Jasper. He nudges his knee against mine, stopping it from bouncing with rage, and it calms me down. I don't know how he does it, but it is a true gift. When Bella asks that he go with her and Jacob, I relax a little more. She doesn't want to be alone with him. That's a good sign.

The rest of us sit at the table in uncomfortable silence. Emmett, Rosalie and Alice are all staring at me like they expect me to do something. I've been pretty predictable in doing nothing about this situation so far, so I'm not sure why they think my idiocy would change now.

When Jasper returns without Bella, the anxiety ramps up a notch again, but he leans over and whispers in my ear so no one else can hear.

"It's all good, bro'," he says, "she'll be back in a sec. She said to just go with whatever she does for now, but I gotta say…you got it so fucking wrong man. You have some serious ass kissing to do."

I look at him confused and then my world changes from the miserable, lonely, self-pitying world of doubt and regret it has been to one of nothing but hope and love.

I feel Bella come up beside me and run her fingers through my hair. All my tension washes away in an instant as she brings her lips down to mine. The shock of what she's doing takes a second to settle before Jasper's words register, and I know we're putting on a show. My arm tightens around her with my hand resting on the small of her back and our tongues begin to dance.

In this moment, we are once again Edward and Bella, inappropriate displays of PDA and all. I'm in the dream where I don't want to wake up. I don't want to stop, but it's over all too soon as Bella pulls back and whispers in my ear that it is for Jacob's benefit and to trust her. She says she knows it's wrong although it doesn't feel wrong to me. The wisdom in selecting the board shorts with mesh is reconfirmed. I swear her tongue is hardwired to my dick, but the way she says 'trust' after the kiss, travels right to my heart. If I'd trusted her, trusted us, we wouldn't be in this situation now.

As we all get up to leave the café, I feel her hand slip into mine and I give it a squeeze. All too soon, we're out of sight of the café and Jacob and she lets go to run up to speak with Alice who's leading the way. Not a word or a look is exchanged between us. Emmett and Rosalie are following behind them all wrapped around each other stealing kisses.

Jasper appears beside me and puts an arm around my shoulder.

"So, what did she say?" he asks nonchalantly.

"She said it was wrong, that it was for Jake and I had to trust her. Jazz, tell me what went on over there?" I plead.

"Not my story to tell, man. Have you not learned anything? You and Bella need to talk to each other and you're going to have plenty of opportunities today. Alice is going to make sure of that, so take advantage. Just remember that although you've both acted foolishly over the last couple of months, this is really all down to you and that night. When she's ready to tell you…listen."

I nod gratefully as he trots up to join Alice and Bella who are busy trying to explain to one of the park photographers in the main courtyard just what kind of picture they want for the group. The poor kid has been handed a camera, and told to go take pictures of the nice tourists. These tourists will then spend insane amounts of money for a keychain with said picture on their way out.

They never warned him about people like Alice, who have to set the 'perfect scene'. She's already got Rosalie sitting on the concrete wall of the flower bed in front of the fountains and is arranging her top in such a way that she looks pregnant, even though she's not really showing yet. Emmett is perched precariously behind Rosalie trying not to drag his ass in the dirt of the flowerbed and resting his chin on her shoulder. Alice arranges his hands to hold Rose's imaginary stomach created by the careful arrangement of the top.

Bella is sitting beside Rose and Alice is showing her exactly how to cross her legs. I can see our adolescent photographer is getting impatient. He could have taken a dozen pictures by now. She calls me over and has me squat behind Bella with my elbows resting on her shoulders and my chin resting on the top of her head. My hands dangle in front of Bella's chest as she's supposed to cross her hands over her chest and interlace our fingers forming an X across Bella's body.

"Um, Alice," Bella says uncomfortably. She hasn't taken hold of my hands yet. "I don't think this is a good idea. We…" she indicates between us, "shouldn't be doing stuff like this. Not yet."

"Yeah, Alice, I don't…" I try to back Bella up, but Alice waves her hand in the air that effectively says 'shut up, I know what I'm doing'.

She let's out a large breath. "Ok, so you guys kissing back there was a great idea then?" she says defensively, and continues, "this picture is important. If things work out with you guys, it's an incredibly intimate pose full of love and closeness. If things don't work out, it's the picture that X's you guys out for good."

"That's very Sgt. Pepper of you, Alice," I chuckle. Her logic is infallible, and I really hope the pose will represent the former rather than the latter meaning.

Alice finally has Jasper sit on the other side of Rose and Alice climbs right in his lap, indicating to the photographer that he can finally take the picture. He gives us the ticket so we can go pick up our key chains or whatever later.

As we head towards the side of the fountains and into the first ride area, a wave of nausea hits me. It occurs to me that this is just like the first time we came here. Bella and I weren't even together, but I was hoping we would be by the end of the day.

_~Flashback – 10 years~_

_I was so fucking nervous that morning. Asshole Jacob pushed my buttons so much the night before that I had kissed Bella where everyone could see us and told her she was mine and then left. Seriously, what a fucking idiot. I knew I wanted her, but I was still struggling with whether I was feeling that way because our friends wanted it and it was convenient since they were all together. _

_I spent most of that night lying awake on my bed going over every moment I had with her, and by morning I'd had an epiphany. I loved Bella. In the beginning, it had felt like we were forced together because of Emmett and Rose and Jasper and Alice, but as I thought about the last year, I realized I gravitated to her. It was like she was a magnetic force pulling me in. We'd get close, fall into a drunken make-out session at a party and then I'd push her away. I have no fucking clue why I continually did that._

_Overnight, I'd resolved that she was definitely what I wanted. The thought of her with Jacob Black made me so fucking angry. The next day we all had plans to go to the amusement park together and I was going to tell Bella how I felt. Hopefully, she felt the same way. Hence, my nervousness._

_Emmett was totally stoked for the trip since he'd got his license and Carlisle was letting him drive the Navigator. It was the only vehicle that would fit all of us._

_Bella and I sat together in the back and I could tell she was waiting for me to say something. I didn't want a whole audience for it so I was going to wait for a private moment. She looked up at me through her long lashes with those big brown eyes and smiled. Then she took my hand in hers and squeezed it gently. It was more of a reassurance than anything sexual, but I just about fucking died of excitement. She was telling me she understood what had happened last night, and she was ok with it. Don't ask me how I knew that's what she was saying. I just did._

_At the front gate, Alice had this brilliant idea to get in different lines to see who got to the ticket counter first. Alice won, but Bella and I got into a fuckhot staring competition in our lines beside each other. It wasn't even 9 a.m. and I just wanted to grab her and take her somewhere and suck her face off for the day._

_It seemed like everything and everyone were conspiring against me throughout the day. That perfect moment alone with her to tell her how I felt just kept evading me. When we were in lineups for rides, I'd lean against the rail and she'd stand in front of me leaning back just enough to make contact and drive me insane. We'd hold hands as we walked between rides, just like the others, but then let go every now and then like we didn't want to get too close. It was the most bizarre non-verbal communication. We were never alone, or if we were we were on a ride that made it impossible to have any kind of conversation, let alone one where I was going to confess my love for her._

_We were finally at the last ride of the day. It was dark, and the fireworks were going to start shortly. The ride was a roller coaster that went through the mountain fast three times, each time getting faster. There were no big hills, but it was all dark inside. Everybody seemed to leave this ride until last because it was better when it was dark outside too._

_Bella and I had been getting closer with every ride and every line she'd lean harder into me. By the time we got to this last ride she was leaning back on me so hard, I was sure she could feel what she was doing to me and even wiggled her butt a few times against me. I had to grab her hips to stop her. She was driving me crazy._

_When it was finally our turn after letting who knows how many people in front of us so all six of us could get on the same train, Bella climbs in first and I follow behind her. It's a smaller coaster so the seats are small and cramped especially when we brought the bar down. I put my arm over the back of the seat behind her and let my fingertips ghost over her shoulder. Bella surprised me when she let her hand rest on my leg._

_The train started off gradually gaining speed through the first turn and soon we were in complete darkness. It wasn't scary or stomach churning, just a rush of speed in the blackness._

_I felt Bella lean into me and say my name._

"_Edward?" she said just loud enough that I could hear her over the noise of the train and the wind._

_I turned to look in her direction since I couldn't see her in the dark, and suddenly felt the warm sensation of her lips on mine. It took me a second to fully comprehend what she was doing, but then realized this was my moment to show her, if not tell her what I was feeling. I pulled her tighter to me and sucked at her bottom lip. She opened her mouth to me and our tongues began doing a sweet battle. It was such a rush to feel the wind whooshing by with such urgency as our lips caressed each other. We'd kissed before, but nothing prepared me for the emotion that poured from me with that kiss, and I felt it all come back to me from her._

_I still didn't say anything to her, but we didn't let go of each other for the rest of the night after that. As we watched the fireworks together that end every night at the park, she stood in front of me with my arms wrapped around her from behind. The others kept giving us knowing glances, but I just ignored them and enjoyed being with her like this, having her in my arms._

_As the finale began, the sky exploded with sounds and colors. I turned Bella in my arms to face me, and knew that this was the moment I'd hoped for all day She stood on her tiptoes and put her arms around my neck, pulling me down to kiss her again. My hands ran up and down her sides then wrapped around her into a tight hug. When we finally needed a breather, I pushed her back from me gently._

"_Bella, it's taken me all day to figure out how to do this, but I have to tell you something." _

"_No, you don't," she said, kissing me sweetly, "I already know…and Edward?" she kissed me again, "me too."_

We weren't apart for a single day after that. Not through college, or holidays, or family vacations. I'd go camping with her and Charlie, or she'd come to wherever Carlisle and Esme decided to take us. Not one single fucking day until these last two months. Yep, tell me again what an asshole I am for the way I acted on that beach. Tell me I could have saved a lot of pain and heartache by behaving differently that night. Don't I fucking know it!

My plan is to try and recreate a little bit of that first time and some of the others that we've spent at the park. I want her to tell me what happened at the house that night so I can solidify my plans to physically harm Jacob Black. Then I want to tell her just how much I love her and miss her. Finally, I want to know if she thinks she can put up with my shit and tantrums for the rest of her life as my wife. Maybe not quite worded like that, but you know what I'm trying to say.

We've reached our first ride. It's a metal roller coaster with two hills, two loops and two corkscrews. It usually takes about thirty minutes to get on it and then it lasts for about 45 seconds, but it's Bella's favorite. I'll let her tell you why.

Bella and Alice are already half way through the snaking metal pathway by the time Jasper and I get to the ride as they ran off ahead. Emmett is busy making Rosalie comfortable on one of the benches and completely denying that he's missing anything by not coming on this with us. We leave them with our bags and take off after the girls.

When we catch up with them, Jasper hoists himself up onto the railing and Alice turns to stand between his legs facing him. She's so short it actually looks like she's giving him head before she turns back around to face us again.

I lean against the opposite railing, my hands resting on the bars, my feet crossed in front of me. Alice is chatting nervously about how she hates the first roller coaster of the day, but after the first one she's fine and Jasper is stroking her hair. I swear, with every stroke Jasper makes on her hair, her speech slows a little more. I don't know how he does it. I've said before, it's a gift.

As we're listening to Alice chatter on, the most amazing thing happens. Bella takes one step to her right and turns to face Jasper and Alice. It wouldn't be anything significant normally, but today it is huge, because right now she is standing right in front of me and she's leaning back…just a little bit.

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**I love the faves and alerts that let me know you're reading, but please send me some love in a review. It makes my day. Reviewers get teasers. Now push that little button down there. You know you want to. Cilla.**


	5. 5 Talking it Out

**A/N: Real business first... Twilight's not mine.**

**Thanks to everyone who has alerted or faved this story and special thanks to those of you who take the time to review. You'll notice that I have changed the tense from previous chapters. I like it better like this and eventually I will get around to changing the first 4.**

**Mucho mucho love and thanks to superbeta Suzie55 who turned this around and back to me in an hour so I could post right away. She's awesome and I heart her lots. Check out her stories Welcome to Paradise and The Rules of Hollywood. They are both in my favorites.**

**That's enough for now. More news at the bottom.**

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**For Your Amusement**

**Chapter 5**

**~Bella~**

Let's recap shall we? Two months ago, my boyfriend of nearly ten years told me he wasn't sure he was going to propose. He followed that up with totally drawing the wrong conclusions about what he saw at our house after we fought at the beach. I moved out. We didn't talk for two months. We had been in each other's presence for all of two hours and we had already had a butt squeeze, a hot stare down, made out a bit and now I stood in front of him ready to give him a crotch graze with my butt. Have we talked at all? No! Is this situation a little messed up? Hell yeah!

Edward and I stood in line for our first ride of the day with Alice and Jasper. I watched how loving and touchy they were with each other all the time. Edward and I were like that, and I have to hope that we will be again. As we stood in line, I couldn't help but move to stand in front of him and lean back a little. My head told me that it's wrong, but my heart hadn't gotten the memo yet. Ten years in a relationship and we couldn't even talk to each other? You'd think that we would have been a little better at communicating. We had always communicated with our bodies better than our words. Ever since that first day at the park when I wouldn't let Edward say the words to tell me he loved me or wanted me to be his girlfriend, we had been physically expressive rather than verbally. That's not to say we didn't talk, of course we did, but it seemed when we fought, we were always anxious to make it to the 'make up' part.

My heart and body pulled me like a magnetic force to him even though I knew we had so much to talk about. It didn't help that this roller coaster was my favorite due to previous experiences on the ride…

We moved slowly in the line, the four of us finding easy chatter about what the day might hold for us as far as rides and shows. Alice remarked that there was an open mic competition in the large concert forum in the early evening that we should go watch and I felt Edward tense behind me just as I saw Jasper raise his eyebrow at him. I stayed in my position solidly in front of Edward throughout the line, and although he never put a hand on me, I could feel his breath on my hair and occasionally heard him inhale deeply. It gave me the most delightful goose bumps.

Once we got to the platform where you select which lane you'll go in to get on the train, Alice and Jasper opted for the front, while we, rather Edward, opted for the back. My stomach did cartwheels at the prospect of what might be to come. Have I mentioned I like this ride? There's a good reason.

Our separation from Alice and Jasper did mean that we finally had some time away from eager ears to actually talk, and I felt I needed to explain myself a little better for the kiss earlier. I stood in front of Edward facing him, just far enough away that I didn't have to strain my neck to look up at him, but close enough that our conversation could be relatively private.

"Edward," I started, after exhaling deeply, "I need to explain about earlier."

"Bella, I get it. You wanted to make Jacob jealous," he replied bitterly.

"No!" I snapped a little too loudly, and saw a few heads turn our way. "I wanted to send him a message that he had not succeeded in breaking us up, and I needed you to know that as well, despite our circumstances. I don't consider us broken up until I hear from your lips that you don't want to be with me anymore. Are you ready to hear my side yet? Or, do you still want to believe him and what you thought you saw?"

He stepped closer and put his hands on either side of my hips. I shivered at the contact and looked up into his gorgeous green eyes. I could see he was having an internal struggle as to whether to answer my question or kiss me. I made the decision for him, removed his hands from my hips, and took a step back.

"Edward, we are not going to fix this by kissing and making up and not talking about it. You said some horrible things to me, and believed a guy you have told me for years not to trust. So, I'm asking you again, are you ready to hear the truth?" My voice was calm, quiet, and steady. Edward's only response was to nod silently. I looked at where we were in the line and was thankful that the line for the back of the train was always the longest. I decided I had some time to at least get the basics out.

I took a deep breath and began. It felt a little uncomfortable beginning this conversation among so many strangers, but finally being away from those who actually knew us, I was able to get it out. It was not the best location for sure, but sooner rather than later seemed to be a good idea. Of course, two months ago would probably have been better.

"Edward, when you said you didn't know _if _you were ever going to propose, I felt my whole world shift. It was like you had taken the last bit of air I had and pushed it right out of my body. I couldn't breathe and I just wanted to get away from you and everyone else as quickly as I could. I didn't want Jasper and Alice's party to be ruined by our fighting or get any of our friends involved that night. I thought the best thing was to remove myself from the situation." I took a breath and looked into Edward's eyes. He pursed his lips and then opened his mouth to speak, but I effectively shushed him by raising my finger to his mouth.

"Please, you have to let me get as much out as possible before you say anything. I have to tell you how I was feeling for you to understand everything." He nodded and held the hand I had raised to silence him. It felt good to have that bit of encouragement to continue.

"With one single sentence, you made me feel like everything we had didn't matter. A small part of me thought and hoped that you were just reacting to being put on the spot. However, in that moment, the larger part of me was so hurt and angry, that I just had to get away from you, so I went to Jake because he was there. If he hadn't have been there, the whole evening would have played out so differently. I thought you might come after me when you saw where I was going."

Edward sighed loudly. "Bella, I wanted to come after you, I wanted to tell you how sorry I was, but I couldn't move. Looking back, I think maybe I was paralyzed by the idea of you running to Jake." He rubbed the back of my hand in a soothing motion, but I was irritated by his words and withdrew my hand.

"Are you kidding me?" I huffed. "You're telling me, you let me walk away to the man you think I've been having some sort of illicit affair with for years, because you were 'paralyzed' by the idea of me going to him? You are more fucked than I thought, Edward." I sighed dejectedly as the line inched forward some more.

"Maybe, I was also a little mortified at what I said to you, which was the complete opposite of what I felt…_what I feel_. I've thought many times about how I would propose to you, and none of those scenarios involved anything remotely connected to Jacob Black. When you suggested La Push, I felt he was being injected into our relationship yet again. So in that instant, I didn't know how to react, couldn't react, so I lashed out, more harshly than I ever intended and let you go. You don't know how many times I have relived that part of the evening and wished I'd done it differently."

"Me too," I replied sadly, although it did not go unnoticed that he'd said the complete opposite of what he felt. That just confirmed to me that this was all a colossal misunderstanding that got too far out of control. I was right and thankful, this was fixable. We were now three or four trains from the front, so I felt I needed to get the worst out still, at least to the part where Edward showed up. "Please let me finish the rest of the story before we get on the train?" I asked. Edward surprised me by nodding and leaned down to kiss my forehead. I took a sharp intake of breath at the contact, but resolved to push on with the story.

"Jacob saw how upset I was and offered to drive me home. I was glad to just get away from the beach at that point and wanted nothing more than to be back at home. He drove quickly and a couple of times reached over to grab my hand in an effort to sooth me, but I kept pulling it away." I saw Edward visibly tense, but I knew I had to keep going.

"Once we got back to the house, we sat in the car for a few minutes. Jacob asked if I was alright and if I knew what I was going to do. At that point, I wasn't sure, and I really hoped we'd just had a stupid argument that could be fixed. He stroked my hair and wiped the tears from my eyes, and although I felt a bit uncomfortable, I really didn't think it was anything more than a gesture of friendship. He got out and walked me to the door and I turned to thank him for bringing me home. As I turned and looked up at him, he grabbed my face in his hands and kissed me." I looked down at my feet and once again felt the tension radiating off of Edward.

"And you kissed him back," Edward said flatly.

"No! Yes…sort of," I stammered, "it was like everything was moving in slow motion, and I was definitely not thinking clearly. By the time I realized what he was doing and stopped kissing him, you were standing on the pathway glaring at me. You know the rest, but you never gave me a chance to explain."

"You have no idea how much I regret everything I said that night," he said softly, "I can't believe, I accused you of sleeping with him behind my back."

"Well, that makes two of us," I replied bitterly, "I tried to tell you it wasn't like that and that it wasn't what you thought, but you wouldn't listen. When Jacob told you to move over because I was with him now, I told you not to trust him and you saw me push Jacob away. You didn't trust me. You told me over and over again not to trust Jacob, and in that moment I knew you were right, but then you turned around and trusted _his _word over mine. It hurt…_a lot_. I knew the only thing for me to do was leave the house for the night, but I only ever intended to go for the night, not forever."

"I told you I needed space as you walked passed me with your bag," he interjected.

"Yes, you did, and I decided then not to come back until you were done 'needing your space'."

"I was done the next day. You wouldn't take my calls, and by the time you were calling me, I decided to not take your calls." He huffed loudly. "We've both been such fools."

"I know," I replied simply.

We were finally next in line for the ride and my stomach was doing flips. We'd seen, or rather heard, Alice and Jasper a couple of trains ago, but didn't really acknowledge them since I was in the middle of my big reveal to Edward.

An eerie calm had come over us since I'd explained exactly what Edward saw that night.. As I looked up at him, I couldn't decide what emotion he was giving off. He would not look me in the eye, which told me that he was at least a little bit ashamed of the way he behaved and what he said. He knew he'd leapt to conclusions and denied me the opportunity to clarify and explain. I wanted him to know that I was no longer mad, but I was still hurt. I also wanted him to know that my love for him was still the same. So, as we waited for the train to come, I took a step to him, wrapped my arms around his waist, and laid my head against his chest. After a moment, I finally felt his arms come around and pull me in. He kissed the top of my head and leaned down to whisper in my ear.

"Bella, I am so sorry," he breathed into my ear just as the train pulled in. The gate opened for us to step down into the train and we released from each other.

"This doesn't mean we're done with this," I said, looking into his eyes, "it means we're getting better. Trust, Edward. You need to trust me."

"You're right, we're not done, and I do trust you. I also still have a few questions that I need answered too." His tone was calm and steady, but I could tell there was something bubbling under the surface.

I smiled warmly at him and moved to step into the train. My smile was instantly gone when I saw they had made a modification to the seats. This wasn't going to be my favorite ride anymore.

_Flashback – 9 years_

_Once Edward and I finally got our act together, we really were inseparable, but it took us almost a year to become fully intimate with each other. Sorry, that's not right. We were incredibly intimate with each other; it just took us a while to actually have sex. I am not sure why because we were doing everything but that for months. Finally, the night of junior prom we sealed the deal and it was a-ma-zing. Girls talk about their first time being awkward and uncomfortable and painful. Mine was none of those thanks to the insane amount of heavy petting Edward and I had been engaging in, and the boy has REALLY long fingers .I'll leave that to your imagination…_

_Once we started, we could not stop, it was like we needed each other all the time in any way possible. Before we slept together, we enjoyed our sexy time together, but it never really translated out of the bedroom into an all-consuming need. After, well that was another story. That year we went to the amusement park about a month after junior prom. In the month between junior prom and going to the park, I would estimate we had sex about forty times, and that included a week off for Aunt Flo's visit. When we weren't doing it, we were finding creative ways and places to get each other off. This brings me to why this first roller coaster at the park is my favorite._

_We got in the line and each of the three couples took up the standard position of the guy leaning against the railing and the girl leaning up against the guy. It didn't take long for me to realize that this arrangement was already doing things to Edward, so I turned around and hugged him tightly making sure to rub myself up against him a little bit more. He leaned down to whisper something dirty in my ear which led to a full on make-out session in the line, complete with inappropriate grinding and ass squeezing. Yes, I'm sorry to say, we were those kids, you don't want your kids to see in the lines at amusement parks._

_We tolerated the cat calls and wolf whistles from Emmett and Jasper along with their demands for us to 'get a room' as well as Alice's chiding of 'Isabella, you should really let the boy breathe', and Rosalie's 'we know it's all new to you guys, but you do know you shouldn't fuck in public, right?'_

_When we got to the dividing lanes, Alice and Jasper picked the front, Emmett and Rosalie picked the front as well in the same car behind Alice and Jasper. Edward pulled me to the back and said the last car had the biggest rush and 'no audience'. At the time I wasn't sure what he meant by that, but I soon found out when it was our turn to step into the car._

_Since this was a looping coaster, it had full shoulder bars that came down over your head. The seats themselves were like a bench seat but with slight moldings for your butt cheeks. Edward stepped in first and quickly sat down and pulled the bar over his head. He held his hand out to help me step in._

"_Don't push your bar down too tight yet and make sure you're not sitting on your skirt," he said in his super low, panty-drenching voice. "Just push it until it locks, but you can still move, we'll push it further when we're on the hill."_

"_Okay," I agreed with a smirk, wondering what my boy was up to. The ride operator passed by making the cursory pull to ensure the restraint was locked, but didn't seem to care that it wasn't down all the way._

_Finally, the train pulled out of the station rolling down a small hill to make a sharp U-bend to begin its ascent up the first large hill. As we left the station, Edward turned to me with his crooked smile and a glint in his eye._

"_Lift your right butt cheek," he said so only I could hear him. I complied and he slid his hand under my butt until his fingers touched my core. "Ooh, so wet for me already, baby," he cooed as the front of the train latched to the chain that pulled it up the hill._

_I stared at him wide eyed, not really believing what he was about to attempt, but I was not complaining. He'd managed to get me off in biology by discreetly rubbing over my jeans using the side of his pinky while is hand was on my thigh. That little stunt earned him a blow job in the janitor's closet during lunch and a quickie on the exercise mats that were stored behind the curtains on the stage in the gymnasium/auditorium. That's just one example of how creative and insatiable we had become._

_As our last car finally made it on to the hill, Edward instructed me to push my restraint down to tighten it up. He had maneuvered his hand all the way under me and inside my barely there underwear. His long middle finger was rhythmically moving back and forth through my folds, up to my clit, and back again. His wanton gaze, that never left my eyes, was as erotic as what his fingers were doing to me. The inability to move due to the restraint only added to eroticism. It was our unwitting (or maybe witting –if that's a word- on his part) first foray into bondage, and fuck if it wasn't the hottest thing._

_By the time we were nearing the top and the front cars were already dangling precariously over the hill, my breathing was already shallow and I was so close to falling figuratively and literally over the edge. Just before we began the rapid descent, he pushed his middle finger as far inside of me as he could and pulled back in a hooking motion. I came so hard as we were whipped down the hill and straight up into two loops. The combination of the adrenaline rush from the ride and my orgasm were completely mind blowing. Nobody noticed my screams since everyone was doing it, but mine were for another reason entirely. I don't really remember the rest of the ride, just his finger continuing to slide through my wetness until the train braked abruptly just outside the station waiting for the other train to leave. He struggled to pull his hand free, and when he did, he licked his fingers one by one. If I could have got out of the damn restraint, I would have jumped him right there in the roller coaster car._

"_Where did you learn that?" I panted, feeling flushed and a little dizzy._

"_I dreamed about doing it last night," Edward replied with a cocky grin, "but I wasn't sure if logistically it would work."_

"_Logistically? You realize, you just took all the hotness out by saying that" I laughed._

_When the train finally got into the station and the restraints released, I was a little shaky on my legs getting out. Edward just chuckled as he helped me out. He pulled me close and kissed me deeply as we walked down the exit ramp. I could taste myself in his mouth. We reached the bottom of the ramp with arms wrapped around each other and still kissing._

"_About fucking time," grumbled Emmett. "What did you guys do, stop to fuck along the way?"_

"_I wouldn't put it past them," added Jasper, slapping Edward's back._

_Edward and I chuckled to each other and exchanged knowing glances._

I know he told Emmett and Jasper and I may have shared with Alice and Rosalie. Edward had done the same thing every year since on this ride, and I was really looking forward to maybe breaking the ice by doing it again this year. That was one of the reasons why I really wanted to talk to him before we got on the ride. We couldn't have gone from not speaking or trying to resolve anything to 'hey could you give me a toe-curling, mind-numbing, leg-shaking orgasm on this ride like you always do'.

However, looking at the seat, I noticed that a full cushioned divider now separated the two seats and I knew it would be impossible for Edward to do anything this time.

Edward must have seen my smile fade quickly when I looked back to him and he knew why as soon as he climbed in and I followed him. He turned to me before we sat down with a smirk on his face.

"Bella, were you really thinking that…?" he gestured to the seats.

"Meh, a girl can hope, can't she?" I replied flirtatiously, "Besides, this trip is all about tradition, right? Alice will tell you that it's all about tradition. You can't break tradition if you can help it." I winked and smiled as we both settled in our seats and pulled the restraints down. "I may also be just a tad bit horny. It's been a while," I added not looking at him. I heard Edward choke as the train pulled out of the station.

Yes, the heavy stuff was out of the way for the most part, and now it was time to have some fun.

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**End Note: Please be so kind as to review and let me know what you think.**

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	6. 6 Oh, Alice

**A/N: Stephenie owns it all. **

**I haven't got into a regular update groove and for that I'm sorry, but I'm fully committed to updating as and when I can. RL has been kicking me in the butt, but that won't stop me with my one guilty pleasure here.**

**I say it every time and I'll continue to say how grateful I am to my friend and beta Suzie55 for keeping my going. If it weren't for her #writealong on Twitter last night, you still wouldn't be getting an update. And since the majority of it was written past midnight last night, she had a brutal job to do on it today. Thank you my dear sweet friend for everything you do for me far and beyond making my story pretty and readable. All of you need to check out her stories The Rules of Hollywood and Welcome to Paradise in my favorites.**

**On with the story...**

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**Chapter 6 – Oh, Alice**

**~Edward~**

I was fucking soaring and nose-diving all at once in my head. I was on my very own internal roller coaster. The whole thing I thought I saw _wasn't_. Which I knew deep down, but to have Bella confirm it and explain was exhilarating and made me want to smile the biggest fucking smile. On the other hand, she had kissed Jake, rather he kissed her, but it took her a while to pull back. She was pretty vague about that whole thing. How long had she kissed him for? Was she into it at all? The thought of his hands on her and her enjoying it made me sick to my stomach. We would have to talk about that some more later. Right now, I wanted to enjoy being able to talk to and touch my girl.

Oh, and did I mention Bella wanted to do our little roller coaster finger fuck? Seeing the look of disappointment on her face when she saw the seats had been changed and it wouldn't be possible made me give myself a little inward fist pump. Obviously, neither of us had had sex for a while, and if she was feeling it half as much as I was, my Bella was one horny little girl. I could definitely work with that. Ever the pragmatist, I think more from living with me than an innate trait, she had wanted to clear the air and talk before we dove back in. She was right.

This was not the first time we had fought it was just the worst. Our pull to each other was so strong that the fight was usually forgotten in favor of make-up sex, and generally only partially resolved. That's why I'd asked for the space. When we went to separate rooms in the house, it never lasted long. This was too big for me to ignore and just fuck ourselves out of being mad. Hindsight being 20/20, that would have been a better option than what actually happened and maybe we would be engaged by now if we both hadn't overreacted. No, that's not true, we wouldn't because I always had a plan, and the plan was for today to be the day. Sometimes to my detriment, I didn't do anything without a plan.

As we walked down the exit ramp from the roller coaster, Bella slipped her hand in mine and gave a small squeeze. I gave a squeeze back to let her know I was all right with this and we were going to be all right.

The other four were waiting at the bottom of the ramp for us. The reaction from each of them was predictable as they regarded our intertwined fingers. Alice grinned widely and clapped her hands with excitement while Jasper had his arm around her trying to keep her at least a little calm. He offered me a nod and a fist bump then patted my shoulder as we walked by. Rosalie rolled her eyes and rose from her seat to start walking to the next ride. Emmett…oh Emmett, my dear brother had a way with words.

"What is it with this fucking ride?" he asked, gesturing towards the coaster, "every year you guys walk off this ride with the cheesiest grins on your faces and Bella always looks a little flushed. Today, you guys go on barely speaking to each other and come out holding hands. It's like it has magic power or something."

I had to laugh. He has this almost childlike innocence about him, and clearly, he had forgotten why Bella always looked flushed coming off that ride. Since I only ever told him about the first time, I guess I could understand how he had forgotten about that. Jasper, on the other hand, had been privy to all our debauchery in this park over the years. He and Alice had gotten up to some fairly risqué stuff of their own at times. I could see Jasper was trying to hold in a full belly laugh, and Bella was looking a beautiful shade of crimson. Yeah, Jasper knew it all and Bella knew that, so multiple levels of embarrassment happening for her.

"Em, your eloquence never ceases to amaze me," I said, putting my arm around his shoulder, but not letting Bella out of my grip in the other hand. "You just worry about keeping your pregnant wife happy and I promise we will all have a great day."

Emmett nodded and smiled as he walked ahead to Rosalie. He was not a dumb jock by any means, but in some ways he was naïve and almost simple. If Bella and I acted normally for the rest of the day, we'd have been able to convince Emmett that nothing was ever wrong in the first place. You tell me how someone with their Masters degree in Business, owner of three auto repair shops, and shareholder in multiple other companies could be so clueless. It was one of the things I thought about when I wanted to last a bit longer for Bella. It could tie up my mind for hours and stave off the inevitable more effectively than thinking about Betty White naked.

It had actually been useful to have those thoughts at that moment as I had been sporting a semi hard-on since stepping off the ride. Having Bella now surgically attached to my hand did nothing to change that situation. The only thing that could was the endless circle in my head of thinking how my brother could be so dense and so smart at the same time.

"C'mon Bella, let's catch up with Em & Rose, the kettles are next!" Alice squealed, literally wrenching Bella from my hand. I watched Bella's behind in a mini skirt as they ran ahead to catch up with Emmett and Rose.

"So," Jasper said, smacking my back and shocking me out of my Bella-ass haze. "I saw they changed the seats. No play time today, huh?" he added with a wink.

"Uh, _no_, but apparently it wasn't off the table until she saw the seats," I said sheepishly.

"Really? Well, that would have been all kinds of healthy for you two, wouldn't it?" he drawled sarcastically.

"Jazz, we talked, ok. She told me. I know what I saw, and I know now that I was wrong, but it's not all cut and dry like that either. Yes, I was a prize asshole, and yes, we should have sorted this out a long time ago, but we've just made some huge steps and we're going to be ok."

"And the plan?"

"We'll see. All indications are good," I replied simply. "Let's go join the others on this yawn of a ride, shall we?"

Jasper rolled his eyes and followed me into the snake for the kettle. We hopped a couple of railings to catch up with where the others were now in line.

The kettles were probably my least favorite ride in the whole park. Firstly, there was absolutely no opportunity for anything other than a quick grope, and even that was difficult and wholly unsatisfying considering what we had been able to get away with on other rides in the past. Secondly, it was just boring. The ride was basically your standard Scrambler ride that you see in all nickel and dime fairgrounds. Three sets of three cars or kettles, moving around in a circle at their own speed in individual circles and as a whole with mild G forces pushing you to the outside. The twist with this ride, that was supposed to make it more exciting, was that it was set on a forty-five degree angle. It was supposed to add a bit of nausea and free fall to the mix, in my opinion, failed miserably at it. Alice seemed to like it, and this year it would be one of the few rides that Rosalie could go on. The guys always sat on the outside so the girls were squished into them as the cars flew around. In my mind, that was the only up side to this ride. Bella squishing into me was a very good thing.

Now that we had talked and she had explained at least a little bit, I felt that the barriers would start to come down quite quickly. We could really start to enjoy the day and each other's company.

When Jazz and I reached the others, he immediately took up position behind Alice, wrapping his arms around her. Whatever conversation had been taking place between Bella and Alice, ceased abruptly upon our arrival. Rosalie was emphatically reassuring Emmett that this ride was safe for her and that no small children, including their unborn child, would be harmed on this ride by pointing to the sign that indicated no restrictions to pregnant women like some of the rides did. I moved to stand behind Bella and tentatively placed my hands on her hips. She jumped at my touch and turned with a start, glaring at me like I was the boogeyman who'd come to take her away. _What the fuck?_ Bella took a step away from me under the watchful glare of Alice as the line moved forward with the next group being loaded onto the ride.

Having had that little bit of contact with my girl, all I wanted was more. My dick was acting like a divining rod attempting to point straight at her, pulling me in. Clearly, between the roller coaster and now, Bella had had a change of heart for some reason. I had to respect that, but it was really fucking with my head…well both of them. One minute we seemed to be fine, the next she was looking at me like I killed her fucking cat. I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration and folded my arms across my chest. It was the only thing I could do to stop my hands from reaching out to her again.

We finally made it onto the ride and Bella seemed to be making an extra effort to avoid touching me. I was beyond confused at this point and wondered how she was going to fight the G-forces, mild as they were, that would inevitably push her into me on this ride. I pulled the restraining bar in the kettle down over our laps and reached for Bella's hand once again, and once more, she jumped and withdrew it quickly.

"Bella, what's going on?" I asked with concern.

"Nothing," she replied curtly as the ride began to spin.

"Don't," I said sharply.

"Don't what, Edward?" The ride gained speed and the individual kettle began to spin. I could tell she was holding on tightly and trying to stop herself from being pushed into me. She was barely succeeding, but her arms had to be hurting.

"Don't play games with me now. Please?" I begged. The whir of the ride and the wind forced me to raise my voice. She didn't respond, instead choosing to focus all her attention on restraining herself from me. There was nothing else for me to do but try not to fall asleep on this truly juvenile ride with zero excitement factor. My only source of excitement for the ride was apparently not speaking to me again.

The ride finally began to slow down and Bella shifted herself away from me again and looked at me with hurt in her eyes. Once it stopped and the bar released, I pushed it up, stepped out of the kettle, and held out my hand to help Bella out. She refused my hand and stepped out by herself, striding with purpose to the exit. I caught up with her quickly and grabbed her wrist pulling her back as I watched the others exit the ramp and head over to the pirate show that was about to start in the lagoon opposite the ride. I stopped and turned her to face to me holding her upper arms gently.

"Bella, for god's sake. Stop! What the hell has gotten into you? You seem madder at me now than you did before we talked. I thought you said we were getting better, what has changed since you wanted me to finger fuck you on the roller coaster?" It was harsh, but it got her attention.

"FUCK!" she yelled, pulling her hands up between us in fists to rest on my abdomen as her forehead fell into my chest. "Fucking mind games, Edward," she mumbled.

"I'm not trying to mess with your mind. I'm sorry if you think I am, but I think we've done enough of that. Please talk to me," I said, dipping my head to speak softly in her ear.

"It's Alice," she said, shaking her head and squeezing her eyes tightly closed.

"What about Alice?"

"It's not you, Edward. Alice just got all excited when we came off the ride holding hands, and I told her that we had talked. I told her what had actually happened for the first time. She was shocked and said that she was happy we had talked, but we really shouldn't be jumping back in so quickly and that she thought I should still keep my distance for a while longer. I know you still have questions for me. It sounded like a good idea at the time. I thought maybe Alice was right that we should still have a little space between us." She sighed heavily and looked up at me through her long dark lashes.

"Alice is not my biggest fan at the moment, and probably even more so now that you've told her what happened." I kissed her forehead softly. "While I appreciate that she only has your best interests at heart, and thinks she's helping you, don't you think we've let other people influence this relationship enough over the last couple of months? I'm sorry. _I am so sorry, baby_. I'll tell you as many times as you need to hear it. I know I was wrong. I know I was an ass. I know I do not ever want to go through anything like this ever again. I love you, Bella. It's time for it to be you and me, working together." Bella nodded then surprised me by getting up on tiptoe and pecking my lips lightly.

"Can I tell you something, before you even ask?" she asked.

"Of course," I answered. A cannon exploded, from the pirate show that had already started, making us both jump.

"Wow, an omen for what I'm about to tell you. It could be the final bomb that implodes us," she commented.

"Bella, this may not be the ideal place to do this, but it's what we've been handed, so let's just get all this stuff out of the way. Please."

"Ok. Jacob. The kiss. It was good." _Fuck…not what I was expecting. _"I was in a fog from our fight and he surprised me. It was good, but it wasn't you, and once I realized what I was doing and who I was doing it with, it felt wrong…very wrong. It took me too long to push him away, but I _did_ push him away. He wasn't you. It's always been you."

I didn't know how to respond to that. It was what I didn't want to hear and what I desperately wanted to hear all at the same time. So, I did the only thing I could think of to let her know I'd heard her. I kissed her. She had just told me about another man kissing her and though it hurt to hear her say that, I needed to let her know that _that_ kiss didn't matter now because it would always be _me _in the end.

It was not a quick peck on the lips, or an over-the-top display for someone else's benefit. I cupped her face in my hands, entwining my fingers in her hair, while my thumbs stroked her cheeks. I began tentatively sucking on her bottom lip until her mouth opened slightly as she began to suckle at my top lip. I felt her hand come up the back of my neck, pulling me closer, as her fingers stroked through my hair. My hands left her face and my arms engulfed her around her shoulders on one side and her waist on the other, pulling her tightly to me as our tongues began to do a familiar dance. This kiss was slow, sensual, toe-curling, mind numbing and definitely dick hardening. I know she could feel what she was doing to me as she pushed into me harder, pulling our faces even tighter together.

I don't know how long we stood there rapt in each other. I know at least two more loads of riders from the kettles passed by us. Some even made comments about how inappropriate we were. Fuck. Them.

I had not been able to do this for far too long, and I wasn't about to stop any time soon. Bella didn't show any signs of wanting to stop either. It wasn't like we were groping each other. We were just kissing. I vaguely remember hearing some more cannon fire and some cheering and noting a buzz as the crowd dispersed from the show. At that very moment there was nothing that could stop me from kissing Bella again like that.

"Ahem." Ok, maybe there was one thing. Alice.

Bella and I both turned to the sound of the interruption, our lips still pursed and locked together.

"God, I'm good," she said.

"Good?" I asked incredulously. "You call, telling Bella to shut me out again after we just started to work things out, good?" I could see that Jasper and Emmett were standing not far behind Alice. They had obviously seen our little PDA session as well, both of them smirking at my current exchange with Alice. Rosalie had stepped over to a bench to sit down; having clearly decided that filing her nails was far more interesting than playing voyeur to the current state of Bella and my relationship. It's times like these that I loved her for her self-absorption.

"Of course, it was good," Alice bubbled. "It got you two to finish the conversation you needed to have, didn't it?"

Bella looked puzzled. "Well, yeah, it did, but why did you tell me to stay away from him, Alice? I thought you wanted us to get back together."

"Of course, I do. That's why I told you that. I knew that you would try and I knew that Edward wouldn't stand for it and he would make you talk to him again. You two would have gone on in your new little bubble without covering everything for the rest of the day if I hadn't done that. You did cover the last hurdle, I take it? Because if you didn't, I'm going to have to interfere again, and I know how all of you _love_ my interfering," she giggled. She fucking giggled. She was playing master puppeteer with my relationship and she giggled.

The absolutely infuriating part to this whole inane conversation was that she had been right. We would have held hands, leaned against each other, and gone on without having that final conversation because we would both have been reluctant to go back into dark territory. Alice and her freakish ability to 'see things' had manipulated us into our final reconciliation. I wasn't sure if I wanted to kick her or kiss her.

I opted for neither as everyone burst into laughter.

"Alice, you are infuriating!" Bella said, "But, I love you anyway, and thank you." She turned to face me again and whispered, "And, I love you too."

"Ok, then," my brother's voice boomed. "Let's go play some games!" he shouted, grabbing Rose's hand and pulling her from her seat.

I wrapped my arm around Bella's shoulder and pulled her closer into me.

"Let the games begin," Jasper said, winking at me and turning to walk away with Alice.

Bella moved out from under my arm, grabbing my hand to pull me towards the others.

"Yes, let the games begin," she repeated. "Like the board shorts, by the way, I can work with those," she added, winking at me as well.

This wasn't quite the way I had planned for things to go and it seemed I wasn't going to have to make grand gestures to remind her of all the adventures we'd had in this park. With all the winking going on, something told me, we were going to have some new ones to add to our memories by the time the day was done.

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**End Note: More special thanks to MandyLeigh87 for rocking a blinkie for me. Go check it out here http:(/)gickr(.)com/results4/anim_f451c2f3-6df2-2e54-a1a4-834dd1722027(.)gif . I go all 'fangirl' when I realize she did this for me, since I'm a huge fan of her and her stories Game, Set, Match and Code of Conduct. There's a new one coming too called Secret Life, do jack those from my favorites as well.**

**Now, please, please, please leave me a review. I'd love to hit 100 total reviews with this chapter.**

**Cilla**


	7. 7 The Go Slow Plan

**A/N: Stephenie owns Twilight and all these beautiful people. I just make them do naughty things to each in an amusement park.**

**Much love and thanks to my awesome friend and beta Suzie55. She kicks me in the ass to get me to write, and then makes it pretty when some of it comes out like garbled nonsense. Her stories Rules of Hollywood (final epi posts tomorrow! so sad) and Welcome to Paradise (don't we all want to take surfing lessons from Surferward?) are both in my favorites.**

**Hi to all my Twitter twatter girls. Come follow me cilla_1970. I like to flirt with all the 'wards. Speaking of which Bonesbooth4ever named my Edward, Vegward and you can follow him on Twitter as well.**

**On with the story...**

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**Chapter 7**

**The Go Slow Plan**

**~Edward~**

"Whack A Mole!" Alice screamed. Her voice stood out above the bells, whistles and general thrum of merriment that could be heard all around. Alice's uncanny ability to know what's coming had made that particular game her favorite. She could 'see' where the next mole was coming up and consequently won every time. The one and only time I had ever seen Jasper curse the little pixie was the year she won a stuffed gorilla the same size as her. Guess who had to carry it around the park all day? A casual suggestion on my part to take it to the car was quickly dismissed. Apparently, if it wasn't being carried around, no one would know that she'd won it.

We had moved on to the midway of games and everyone had split up to go to their favorites. Well, everyone except me and Bella. As much as I wanted to curse Alice for interfering and influencing Bella, I couldn't do it. I couldn't say if we would have been where we were without her, but with her, we had made a huge leap forward.

We meandered around the games watching as our friends dropped endless amounts of money on various things trying to win the elusive 'grand prize'. My arm was wrapped firmly around her back, tucked under her arm, my thumb lazily stroking the side of her breast. Her arm was wrapped around my waist up under my tank top, tucked just inside the waistband of my shorts on my left hip. Every so often, we would stop and gaze into each other's eyes and exchange a slow, soft kiss. Participating in a game would mean letting go of her and that just wasn't an option right now.

We stood at the softball throw where you had to knock over a stack of cans with three balls. We watched with great amusement as my brother huffed and puffed and wound up like he was a starting pitcher for the Yankees then promptly missed every single shot. Rosalie stood beside us trying to stifle a laugh and approached her husband slowly. As much as we all teased Rose for her aloofness and apparent self-absorption, the care and affection she took with my brother was really what made us all love her.

"Em, honey, you gotta relax. You try too hard," she purred in his ear. "You think about it too much. If you were like me and didn't give a shit about sports or doing your best, it'd be easy." She kissed Emmett on the cheek and turned to the game attendant requesting three more balls. Emmett smiled at her and nodded as he reached for the balls. Before we knew it, Rose had tossed all three in quick succession and knocked all the cans down. She made it look like she didn't look and just threw them any old way. I knew better.

"See, it's all blind luck," she said laughing. Emmett began laughing too as he picked her up and spun her around before claiming their prize of a medium sized stuffed unicorn. They kissed slowly and sweetly as Bella and I looked on. I pulled her a little closer to me and kissed her temple hoping that we would be just like them soon; happily married and starting a family.

The thought of finally getting to that stage after so long and my anal retentive tendencies about things going according to plan only served to increase the feelings that I couldn't get enough of her. Every time I turned my head to place a kiss on her temple, I would take in the smell of her hair. The same smell that had all but faded from the unwashed pillowcase in our bedroom. That thought made me smile. Yes! It would once again be OUR bedroom, and I could not wait to get her back there. If we had taken two cars, I think I would have had Bella half way back to Forks by now, or maybe I would have just pulled off somewhere and taken her in the back seat.

It was taking everything I had in me not to completely molest her right there in full view of everyone. However, after the emotional revelations we had just made to each other, I was not about to turn this trip into Bella and Edward's Sexual Escapades Part whatever-it-was, although that was what I had originally intended. Bella's sexual appetite was certainly every bit as healthy as my own and I'm sure I could have persuaded her into a few things, without the talk. In the immortal words of Jasper 'that would have been all kinds of healthy'. He was right. Sex never solved anything. Well, maybe it did, but you had to have the talking as well. Bella and I excelled at the sex part, but generally barely got a passing grade on the communication part.

Ten years is a long time to be with someone, especially from such a young age. In the beginning, it was all hormones and groping and fucking whenever and wherever. There really wasn't anything big to fight about, except Jacob, and any fight we had about him in the past was solved with make-up sex. We talked to each other after fights, but I don't think we ever really listened to each other. It was unrealistic to think that we would never argue again, but I liked to think that we had learned now to talk to each other, hear each other, resolve our issues together…_and then_ fuck each other's brains out. I for one, could not wait to get to the last part.

It wasn't that I worried that we needed to take it slow, although that probably was the best idea for now. After all, we had actually talked through things without fucking the pain away. It was more that I just wanted to enjoy being in her company again, being able to just touch her whenever I wanted. The car ride to the park had made my hands ache from the need I had to touch her, and now I could do that. The fog I'd been in since Bella left had lifted and it looked like clear skies ahead. In my head, I could hear Emmett telling me to hand my dick in for a vagina if he'd known any of my inner monologue at that moment.

I steered us over to a bench near the games area, taking my backpack and Bella's bag, and set them down before taking a seat and pulling Bella down so she was sitting sideways across my lap.

"Not in the mood for games today?' she asked, pushing her fingers through my hair. The question was in reference to much more than the amusement park attractions.

"No. Not today," I replied softly, pecking her lips gently and pulling her tighter to me. "I just want to sit here for a while, and enjoy you again." I know she got the double meaning to my words and she seemed almost sad.

Bella shifted in my lap and nuzzled into my neck, her fingers playing with the hair that was visible at the top of my tank top. I was becoming painfully hard from her wriggling and another time or day, I might have been thinking up ways to get inside her right on the bench. My lascivious thoughts were pushed to the background when I heard Bella sniffing and her body shook with what I knew was a suppressed sob.

"Hey," I said, lifting her chin. Her big brown eyes were welling with tears and it broke my heart. "Why the tears?" I kissed a stray one off her cheek as it finally escaped her eye.

She bit her lip like she always does and I knew she wanted to say something but wasn't sure how to say it.

"Bella, what is it? No more not talking, please?" I pulled her lip out from her teeth with my thumb and kissed her nose.

She sighed deeply. "Ok, it's just…god, I've missed you so much, missed us so much, you know? And you know how we are when we come here, and I just…" The blush that came to her cheeks and spread down to her chest was so tantalizing. I shifted to gain some comfort from my straining dick that was trying to poke through my shorts to get to her. "…I just want you, and I can _feel _that, at least, a part of you, wants me too," she smirked, "but, your saying no. I guess, I just want to know that you still _do_ want me after all that's happened."

I groaned. The last thing I wanted to do was make her feel that I didn't want her. Fuck, she could feel how much, but I was determined not to give in. I had inwardly promised that the next time I had her completely, it would be slow and loving and take hours. That just wasn't possible here. I looked around and realized there was another ride close by that we could go on while the others were busy, and I could at least show her in a small way, that we could still play a little.

Without saying anything to her, I patted her leg to indicate for her to move and got up. I grabbed both our bags, taking Bella's hand and headed over to Jasper and Alice who were both playing one of the water spout racing games. I dropped the bags between the two of them.

"Watch these while we go on that ride," I said a little too gruffly, pointing to the ride.

Jasper nodded with a knowing smirk on his face, as I dragged Bella behind me.

"Edward, slow down!" she demanded.

"No, baby, come on. I'm going to show you how much I want you, but we're not doing _that, _just so you know." I winked at her just to let her know I was playing. We'd reached the ride which luckily never had a long line and we would be on the next one. I leaned against the railing and pulled her flush against me, wrapping my arms around her as she did the same to me. I leaned down to whisper in her ear, "Please don't fight me on this. I've been a real asshole and I don't want to be one now, let me do this my way. Let me show you, _my way_"

The ride we were about to go on was called The Matterhorn. It was a non-stop chain of bobsleds with all different country flags on them. It went around really fast in a circle going up and down a few hills and through a small tunnel. We always had an argument in line as to which country we were going to be each year.

"I call USA" I said as the ride before us came to a stop. Bella shook her head. "Canada?"

"Nope"

"Great Britain, France?"

"Nuh uh"

"So, what's it going to be then?" I asked, having gone through all the usual ones.

"Greece," she replied sweetly.

"Greece? You've never picked Greece before." I almost sounded like I was whining.

She stood on her tiptoes and whispered in my ear in her most sultry voice, "There's something to be said for _Greek _culture, don't you think?" She turned and wiggled her ass at me as the line began to move for us to load on the ride. "I'd like to try some _Greek _customs some time."

_Fuck me. _We tried that once when we were kids. It didn't go so well, so we never went back (pardon the pun). Apparently, sad Bella was already gone and sassy, cheeky, sexy Bella was out to torture me with suggestions that maybe I could fuck her in the ass…and she would be all for it. Well, she was going to pay for that little tease.

We settled into our Greek bobsleigh, me in the back with Bella sitting between my legs. There was a handle that slid close to Bell's chest as the restraint for the both of us. Neither of our hands were restricted in any way. Before the ride had even started, Bella moved her hands behind her back and began stroking my cock, using her back and her hands to create a delicious friction. I moaned in her ear and sucked the sensitive spot on her neck right underneath. This was supposed to be about her, but the way her hand was moving on my hardened bulge, it seemed Bella had other ideas. I rested my hands on the insides of her thighs rubbing circles with my thumbs. Each sweep subtly moved her skirt a little higher and got closer to where she wanted me to touch most. The closer I got, the harder she rubbed on me. The ride started moving slowly around, gradually gaining speed.

"God, that feels good, baby." I moaned in her ear. "Keep going." I quickly brought my hands all the way up her skirt and pushed my right hand straight down the front of her panties. I say panties, they felt more like a barely-there piece of lace, that covered a fresh Brazilian wax job, and fuck if that didn't make me even harder knowing what was underneath that skirt. My middle finger found her clit in no time. I swept it through her wetness lower and brought it back up to rub circles around her sensitive clit. As the speed of the ride increased, so did the speed of my hand. As the speed of my hand increased, so did the speed of hers.

Occasionally, I would surprise her with a quick dip lower to gain more moisture, only to return to her swollen bud with more pressure than before. She tried to thrust her hips up to get me to go inside her again, but this was purely for outside pleasure this time. No finger fucking, just pure nerve stimulation, and it was driving both of us to the brink of ecstasy. Her hand was working frantically up and down the outside of my shorts, and the heat from the friction was getting a little uncomfortable. Before I could even tell her to slow down, she had found the waistband of my shorts, gone straight in, and grabbed my rock hard cock with her bare hand. The shocking sensation of her touching me there for the first time in what seemed like forever, caused me to moan quite loudly and bite down on her neck a little harder than I should have. The sensation of my bite caused Bella to moan a little louder than she should have as well. Luckily, we had reached top speed now, our surroundings whizzed by in a blur, our moans drowned out by the screams of the other passengers. I moved my fingers back and forth over her clit as fast as I could while we were at top speed, and she matched every motion of mine with equal attention from her hand to my cock. It was not my intention for me to get us both off on this ride, we'd never managed to get off together on any ride before, it was always one or the other of us. But right then, I was going to explode. The coil in my stomach was wound tight and I could feel Bella start to tense for her impending release. She must have sensed how close I was as she chose that moment to pull a little stunt that she'd only done a couple of times before. She brought her hand up and over the head of my cock smearing her palm with the pre-cum that was leaking from the head. She grabbed my cock again squeezing tightly as she slid her slick palm all the way down to the base stretching the foreskin all the way down as she went. The incredible sensation was my undoing, and I pushed hard on her clit rubbing her as fast as I could as I came in the mesh of my shorts, growling in her ear. As I pulsed in her hand, I felt her whole body spasm and relax with her own release just as the ride was slowing down. I removed my hand from her panties as she removed hers from my shorts. As we both came down from our highs and the ride slowed to a stop, our hands rested together intertwined on the sides of the bobsled. I placed a soft kiss on the spot on her shoulder that I had bitten. We were breathless and flushed, but so were other people on the ride. If only they knew what other fun they could have been having to get that way, I thought to myself.

Bella started laughing and leaned back against me while we waited to be released from the bobsled by having the handle moved back again.

"Thank you," she said, smiling broadly and looking up to me for a kiss.

"Oh no, thank _you_," I said, planting a hard kiss on her lips. "I love you, don't ever doubt that." I added seriously.

"I love you too, and I won't," she replied kissing me sweetly this time. "Are you going to be ok when we get out of this car?"

"Uh, yeah, I think. I might be walking like a baby foal who just found his legs, but my wardrobe choice was a good one today. I just need to find a bathroom when we get off here." I chuckled.

"Yeah, me too," she said smiling brightly.

After we exited the ride, Bella and I wound ourselves around each other once again and made our way back to the midway games where we knew there was a bathroom and stopped by Alice and Jasper, who were now playing Skee ball. Jasper handed me my backpack while Alice handed Bella her purse.

"We're just going to go to the bathroom," I said "Are you guys ready to go on some more rides or get some lunch?" I was a bit uncomfortable with the mess in the mesh of my board shorts, but I knew it would be an easy clean up and fuck it was so worth it.

"I'm up for rides," said Jasper, eyeing me suspiciously and seeming to sniff me. "But, I think Emmett and Rose will probably want to eat, it's gone noon already."

Alice looked between Bella and I and then took her hand.

"I'm going to the bathroom with Bella. Jazzy, honey, why don't you find Em and Rose so we can go get some food." Bella was led away by Alice while looking back at me with a dazed 'help me' look on her face. I watched them go and may have licked my lips at the sight of Bella's ass as she walked away, and chuckled to myself.

Jasper placed a hand on my shoulder and started laughing.

"Having fun?" he asked, and the way he did let me know that he knew something was up. "Why don't you go get cleaned up and I'll go find the others, you fucking wreak of sex, man." Yep, no secrets from Jasper.

I laughed again as I headed for the bathrooms. "I don't know _what _you're talking about," I said innocently as I walked away.

Once in the bathroom, I was pleased to find no one in there. I went into one of the stalls and cleaned up what I could in there before going to the sink and wiping what was left with a wet paper towel. It wasn't great, but it was better than nothing and I knew we'd be going to the water park soon. Did I mention…so fucking worth it!

When I came out of the bathroom, everyone was waiting for me. Bella came up to me and hugged me tightly, pressing her hand into mine. I felt something being put in my hand and when I looked down discreetly, I saw a little tiny piece of black lace, her panties. I stared at her wide eyed as I tucked them in the side pocket of my backpack.

"Just thought I'd make it easier for next time," she said with a wink and a peck on my lips.

Clearly Bella wasn't on board with my go-slow plan, and I'm not sure that I was one hundred percent sold on it anymore either. Her sassiness and the unadulterated desire in her eyes, had worn me down in no time. My only issue now was figuring out when and how I was going to make it happen.

Of three things I was certain. Firstly, my Bella was horny. Secondly, a part of her, and I wasn't sure how dominant that part was, wanted me to fuck her somewhere in this park, and finally, I would unconditionally and irrevocably, give her anything she wanted.

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**Please leave me a review, and in it you can tell me some of the crazy things you've gotten up to in an amusement park, you know you wanna ;)**


	8. 8 Coming Together

**A/N: Stephenie owns all things Twilight. I almost own my car and the plot to this little fic.**

**Have to give props to my beta Suzie55 for the magic wand she waves over this story. It's just prettier because of her. Check out her stories in my faves. Actorward and Surferward are just the sexiest beast around (except Vegward of course :-) )**

**Also thanks to Sscana for her input as pre-reader on this chapter. I love you ladies for making me a better writer! **

**More at the bottom and onward we go.**

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**Chapter 8**

**Coming Together**

**~Bella~**

"So, I guess you guys are all good?" Alice tossed out with nonchalance as we entered the bathroom.

I blushed profusely and could feel it covering my chest as I quickly entered a stall and closed the door.

"Ok, then. I'll take that as a yes," she giggled.

"Alice, I'm not talking about it. You'll only come up with some other hair-brained scheme about keeping Edward at arms length to create some crazy 'tension' between us." I used air quotes even though she could not see me in the stall, but I think my inflection indicated to her what I was doing.

"No, B. I just want to make sure you're happy and that things are on track now. I always knew you guys would get back together because it was caused by something stupid that Edward did, but I also know how you guys are. You just needed to talk to each other. Now you've done that…hey, have at it!" She giggled again. "Besides, now I don't have to feel guilty about me and Jazz…" she trailed off without finishing her thought.

I finished in the bathroom, deciding to make things interesting for Edward by removing my panties. If we were going to have some fun, might as well make it easier for him. We weren't kids anymore and I wasn't sure for how many more years we'd keep up this tradition of getting each other off all over this park. Soon enough, there would be kids around since Rose and Emmett are expecting and Jasper and Alice are getting married. It wouldn't be appropriate for much longer, if it ever was, but I was going to make the most of it while it lasted. I giggled to myself picturing Edward all grey, hopefully not balding because I really love his hair, and grabbing my ass while we waited in line thirty years from now with our grandkids.

Edward seemed to have this notion that he needed to make the first time we made love after this whole debacle special and slow and tender. I was all for the intention behind that theory, but it had been a really long time. We were always quite um…active in that regard, and had made it a point to keep things new and interesting by experimenting often. We'd never gone to the full extent of BDSM, but we'd played with a variety of toys and accessories, and there may or may not be a couple of video tapes hidden in the back of our closet starring yours truly.

All that stuff aside, right now, I just wanted him. I wanted to feel that connection to him again, and I really didn't care that we were in a public place. If we followed the rules we'd set out years ago, we'd be fine, right?

The rules were set our third year coming to the park once it became obvious that we had more on our minds than just riding the rides. There were only three. Firstly, I had to wear skirt. It was just easier that way. Secondly, any 'activities' had to be safe for the ride and obscured from public view. We were out to have fun, but did not want to traumatize an unsuspecting eight year old. Finally, everything had to take place where moans, screams, or any variety of noises would go unnoticed, or we had to be quiet. We had never broken a single one of the rules.

I came out and stood at the sink to wash my hands. Alice was preening herself in the mirror and I noticed that she had changed from the cute white Capri pants she was wearing to a flowing black peasant skirt that came to mid-calf. It was fashionable, but not very Alice.

"Why the change of wardrobe, Alice?" I asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"Oh, you know. White wasn't very practical for the park really, so I thought I'd change."

"_Right_, and it has nothing to do with changing to a skirt for 'easy access'." She saw me use the air quotes this time. I know Edward discussed our antics with Jasper, and I had shared the same park escapades with Alice on numerous occasions. A couple of years ago, Jasper had been 'inspired' to follow our example, so to speak. They definitely had some of their own stories to tell.

"Ok, so maybe, Jazz wants to go to So Loco after lunch, and he's got an idea he wants to try," she said quickly.

_Ah,_ yes, So Loco. That was another ride where two people sat one in front of the other like on The Matterhorn. It was a large wheel of caged cars on a large arm. As the wheel spun, the arm raised until it was completely vertical and you were spending half the time upside down. The seat was a long bench that allowed two people to sit, with one between the other's legs. Edward and I had tried stuff on that ride, but with it going upside down so much, I got a little too dizzy, and it never turned out well. We didn't even go on it anymore.

As unorthodox as it was, it felt good to share something like this with Alice that I didn't with Rose. The four of us had always been closer than we were with Rose and Emmett, and I couldn't explain why. My best explanation was that the four of us were not related in any way. It would be a little weird talking about sex with a brother or sister. I think Jasper was in complete denial that his sister even had a sex life until she announced she was pregnant. I had seen both Edward and Jasper cringe at even the smallest hint of what Em and Rose's sex life was like.

We loved them just as much, even though Rose could be a bit difficult sometimes.

I smiled and put my arm around her as we walked out of the bathroom. "Well, good luck with that," I offered, "don't eat or drink any milk products for lunch," I winked as we walked out to find the others. Edward hadn't come out yet, so I reached into my bag and pulled out my panties, hiding them in my hand.

When Edward came out of the bathroom, I walked up to him, and hugged him tightly as I found one of his hands and pressed my panties firmly in his palm. He had a look of confusion on his face as he looked at the tiny scrap of fabric in his hand. Understanding quickly dawned on him and he stared at me with excited eyes as he quickly tucked them into a pocket in his backpack.

"Just thought I'd make it easier for next time," I said with a wink and a peck on the lips. We wrapped our arms around each other and began to walk toward the others who had already set off to the nearest restaurant.

"Come on, slow pokes! Lunch!" Emmett yelled back to us.

"We're coming!" I yelled

"Over and over and _over _again," Edward whispered in my ear and kissed my temple, causing shivers to run through me. Maybe it wouldn't be so difficult to get him to abandon his go slow plan.

We caught up with Emmett and Jasper in line to buy lunch. It was your standard burger and hot dog joint, but they also offered salads.

"The usual?" Edward asked quietly and seductively.

Ugh, how could he make asking about food sound so sexy? I was seriously rethinking my decision to go without panties. It was causing…issues.

I nodded without saying a word and went to find Alice and Rose who were already seated at a table.

"Everything ok, Bella?" Rose asked as I sat down.

"Everything's great," I answered sincerely.

"Good. I'm happy for you guys. It's really sucked not having the whole group together these last couple of months. I've really missed seeing you, B. We got stuck seeing emo Edward all the time." She reached to squeeze my hand and gave me a genuine smile. This was the Rose I really loved and the only reason I tolerated the stuck up, overly opinionated, self-centered one. There were very few people who ever saw this version of her; The Rose that cared deeply for those closest to her, but only rarely let them see that. The Rose who wasn't so guarded and would actually admit that her husband still made her toes curl when he kissed her, and that the baby she was carrying was the best and most important thing to ever happen to her, including Emmett.

"Now where the fuck is my husband with my lunch? This brat is going to eat my insides out if he doesn't hurry up." And just like that, the other Rosalie was back. Alice and I stared at Rose with mouths agape, and after a very pregnant pause, we all burst into laughter.

"What's got you ladies giggling?" Jasper asked as the guys arrived back at the table.

"Nothing, honey, just girl talk," Alice replied sweetly. "Em, Rose is hungry. Please just give her the food and step away slowly. Watch you don't get bitten, she's like a dog waiting for a bone." Rose glared at her, but that just turned into more fits of laughter.

Edward placed our tray on the table and took a seat as I diligently divided everything up. We'd done this at breakfast without even thinking about it. Now, I was acutely aware of what I was doing and it just felt right again. There were two burgers, one with cheese, one without. The onions came off the cheeseburger and went on the burger. The pickles came off the burger and went on the cheeseburger. The one order of fries got divided between the two plates. The salad sat between the two of us with two forks. I handed Edward the Ranch dressing packet as he handed the Italian dressing packet to me. As we finished our exchange, Edward placed a soft kiss on my lips and turned to eat.

"My god, how do you stand watching them, it's nauseating." The voice from behind us made me freeze just as I was about to take a bite of my burger, and I could feel the waves of anger start to radiate from Edward. "I mean especially since it's all an act," the voice continued. "Yeah, don't think I don't know that you guys haven't been living together for the last couple of months or that that little make-out session this morning wasn't all for my benefit. Why are you fighting it Bella? You know it should be me and not him. Think of Billy and Charlie."

I froze staring straight down at my plate and didn't dare turn around to look at him. If there was any doubt who it was before, there definitely wasn't now. Jacob always brought up our dad's and how they were best friends so they'd be so happy if we got together. The first time he'd ever professed that it had anything to do with his feelings for me was this morning and now he was back to playing the dad card again. It just made me feel worse for not listening to Edward so many times before. If I had, none of this would have happened in the first place. Edward was right, it was all about Jake beating him and not about winning me.

Edward dropped his burger back on his plate and stood slowly. Before turning around, as if he sensed I needed it, and maybe a little to drive the point home to Jake, he lifted my chin and bent down to place a long, soft kiss to my lips as reassurance he had this. Emmett and Jasper stood as well on the other side of the table.

"Jake, I put up with you for years for Bella's sake against my better judgment," Edward began calmly. "I think Bella made it perfectly clear this morning that she no longer tolerates you, and therefore neither do I. I suggest you leave and enjoy the rest of the day with your family, and the rest of your life without bothering us again. Bella's made her choice. She made her choice ten years ago too. So, be a man and respect it for once." I could tell it was taking everything in him to stay calm and not lose his temper. He'd had to sit back and watch it all happen this morning and he wasn't going to let this opportunity pass again without saying something.

"Cullen, we both know that Bella would choose me in a heartbeat if she didn't feel so suffocated by you and your little clan here. Did she tell you about our kiss? How much she enjoyed it? Did she tell you how she wound her fingers in my hair? Or how her tongue just fit with…" Edward moved to raise his fist, but Emmett and Jazz came round from the other side of the table before he could do anything. I could practically see the steam coming out of Edward's ears.

"Ed, bro', there's kids around," Emmett said quietly to calm him. Several people in the restaurant had taken notice of the scene playing out. Edward was flexing and clenching his fists rhythmically while standing chest to chest with Jake and staring him down. He was shorter than Jake by an inch or two, but I knew he could hold his own in a fight and would probably beat Jake with speed and brains over Jake's brawn. Of course, it didn't hurt that he had Jasper on one side of him who was the same size as him and Emmett on the other who was as big, if not bigger than Jake.

I was fairly sure Edward wouldn't throw the first punch now that Emmett had pointed out the audience, but damn if he didn't look hot as hell fighting for my honor. I wasn't big on the whole knight in shining armor scenario and like to think that I could fight my own battles. I was not a damsel in distress. Edward knew this and I also knew this confrontation was more about his pride than my honor, and I was ok with that and so was my hoo-ha sans panties. I was seriously regretting the lack of fabric between my legs at that moment.

"She should be mine," Jake said through clenched teeth.

Edward took a step back and visibly relaxed as he hung his head and chuckled sardonically. "That right there, is why she will never be 'yours'," he said using the air quotes. "Bella is her own person and doesn't _belong _to _anyone. _ Not you and certainly not me. Every day she chooses to be _with _me is a blessing. She is smart, beautiful and one of the most fiercely headstrong, independent women I have ever met. I fully respect that, and that is why our life _together _works. We are partners in every sense of the word. We don't belong _to _each other, we belong _with _each other. Until you learn what the difference is, you'll never have a successful relationship with any woman, let alone Bella. I suggest you think about that and start working on it. People around town are starting to talk about a guy your age being perpetually single, if you know what I mean." I giggled and Edward winked at me.

If mad-and-ready-to-fight-for-me Edward went to my nether regions, calm-and-totally-gets-me Edward went straight to my heart. If I didn't know before that we were going to be fine, I knew it in that moment. I composed myself as I stood up and wound myself into Edward as we both stared at Jake.

"It's time to move on, Jake. We will never be anything more than friends and quite honestly, I don't even want to be friends anymore." I said quietly and we all stood in silence for a few uncomfortable moments. Finally, a smirk appeared on his face as he shook his head.

"We'll see, Bells. I'm not giving up and this isn't over," he said firmly as he walked away.

A very small part of me felt sad for Jake living in denial, waiting for something that would never happen, and losing my childhood friend, but the rest of me knew it was for the best, and the situation had brought those beautiful words out of Edward. He'd never said anything like it before, but I couldn't bring myself to wonder where it came from. It was just too perfect.

After Jake left, we went back to the table to finish our lunch.

"Ok, after yet another meal interrupted by the Bella and Edward soap opera, what's the plan?" asked Rose in her most sarcastic tone. I rolled my eyes and continued eating.

"Well, um, Alice and I are going over to So Loco, if that's ok. Bella doesn't do so well on that ride and I know you can't go on it, so I thought we'd just go on our own," Jasper said nervously. You would have thought he was speaking to his mother instead of his sister.

"Oh, well Em and Edward can go and partner up and B. and I can sit and chat for a bit if you want." If I didn't know better, I'd think that Rosalie knew what Alice and Jasper had in mind and she was deliberately trying to cock block them by not letting them go off on their own. Perhaps she was jealous that her condition precluded her from doing anything freaky in the park. I wasn't aware that her and Emmett had done anything when she wasn't pregnant, so I really wasn't clear on her motivation. Anyway, I decided to speak up and help Alice out.

"Actually, Rose, Edward and I were going to just go sit on the hill by the lake where the stand up roller coaster is. We need to talk some more. We can meet up with you guys in an hour or so at the water park, if that's ok?" Edward squeezed my leg under the table in acknowledgement of the plans I'd just made without consulting him. Alice gave me a look that could only be interpreted as 'thank you, I owe you one'.

"That's ok, babe. We can go play some more games or walk around bazaar for a bit, if you want," Emmett said soothingly. Rose nodded in silent defeat as we all got up to clear our plates and go in different directions.

Edward and I made our way to the hill I had spoken about. It was a large expanse of grass at the back of the park leading down to a man made lake. Two of the roller coaster passed through the water coming dangerously close to it. Along the far side at the top of the hill, there were numerous trees dotted around close to a large wooden fence that indicated the boundary to the park. I led Edward further in to an area surrounded by trees. I found a spot quite far in where a tree stood about three feet or so from the fence and threw my bag down.

Edward sat down against the fence with his feet pressed up against the tree. I started to sit down on my bag beside him, but he quickly grabbed my hand and pulled me to sit on his lap. I gave him a quizzical look and he gave me his simple explanation.

"Given your current state of dress, I don't want you sitting on the ground."

Well, ok then. He was making this easy for me. I wasn't very comfortable the way he'd pulled me down so I stood up and reseated myself so I was straddling his thighs facing him. I was sitting on the back of my skirt, but the front was spread out over his stomach. Edward's left hand rested on my hip, while his right slid up my thigh and under my skirt.

"So, what did you want to talk about?" he asked as his hand inched further up my leg.

"Nothing in particular. I mean, I didn't, but now I need you to know that what Jake said, that kiss meant nothing. I didn't realize what I was doing until it was too late, and I know I told you this already, but I don't want him to have any affect on us any more."

"Bella, he's not going to affect me any more, as long as he doesn't affect you. If he does anything to hurt you or make you feel uncomfortable, I will react, and it won't be pretty." He paused for a moment. "So, if you didn't really want to talk, why are we here?" he asked with a smirk.

"I just wanted to be alone with you for a while. I've missed you," I said, running my hands through his hair.

I see," he said, his voice dripping with sex, "is this what you've missed?" he asked as his hand made the final leg of it's journey under my skirt. His fingers quickly found a home in my wet folds.

The moan I let out as I leaned forward to capture his lips was a little too loud and made Edward pull back from our kiss.

"_Ah, ah, ah_. Rule number three, Bella," he said with a grin.

"Fuck. That. There's no one around and that feels too fucking good," I breathed out, as I went in for another kiss.

"Hey, Miss Pottymouth. What's got into you?"

"Nothing yet, but I'm working on it," I pushed my hips forward onto his hand, and tried to create some friction with the hardness I could feel growing beneath me.

"Is this what you want?" he purred, as his fingers worked their magic on my sex. First one, then two fingers began pumping in and out in a slow steady rhythm.

"Oh god, yes," I moaned, "but I want more."

"Tell me what you want, baby"

"_This _is what I want," I whispered forcefully in his ear as I pressed my hand down on his rock hard cock.

"Belllaaaa," he groaned, "this is not how I wanted to do this, baby."

"I know, but do you have any idea how turned on I was watching you stand up to Jake. And what you said to him…all I could think about was getting you alone." I scooted up his thighs to align myself right over him. His hand was still playing with me, but now grazed against himself as well.

"Edward, any other time, you would be all for it. What you said to Jake was perfect. I want to show you how perfect I thought it was, and _exactly _what it did to me." I leaned forward to kiss from one side of his jaw to the other and stopped at his left ear. "I want you here, now."

His resolve finally broke as both his hands came up to grab my face and pull me in for a searing kiss. His tongue pushed its way into my mouth forcefully and I gladly accepted it, doing battle with it to push my own back into his mouth. As his hands left my face and roamed down the sides of my body, his thumbs brushed over my nipples and they responded immediately coming straight to attention.

My hands were busy rubbing his hardened length through his shorts trying to figure out the best way to free it. I found the drawstring and untied it, finally loosening the waistband enough to pull it down and latch it under his balls. There was no one around us, but luckily, my skirt still covered him up. Edward chuckled as I lifted myself up a little bit and hovered over him ready to take him in.

"What's so funny?" I asked as I lowered myself onto him painstakingly slowly.

"You're just so resourceful, figuring out how to do this without breaking the rules. I like it," he smiled as a thumb grazed my nipple again.

Instantly turning serious, Edward groaned and pushed up suddenly to engulf the rest of him inside me.

"Fuck, this should be really uncomfortable with my shorts like this, but it feels so good, I just don't fucking care," he said as I began to gyrate my hips on him. "It's like I'm wearing a cock ring…or more like a ball cuff, I guess. Just go easy on me, the veg are kind of vulnerable like this. You're pushing it with rule number two as well, you know." He smirked and then kissed me again softly.

I laughed and nodded. His balls were pushed up by the waistband of his shorts, and it did kind of look like he had a testicle cuff on. _What? I said we'd experimented! _ There would be no hard slamming, but that was fine with me. I could grind slowly like this all day.

"Enough with the fucking rules, Edward. No more talking, just feel," I whispered as I slid up and down slowly.

Edward's hand came back under my skirt and his thumb began to draw deliciously slow circles on my clit. Breathless moans were escaping me with each sweep of this thumb, and low groans came from Edward as I moved slowly over him.

We were close to breaking two of our rules, but we'd managed to stifle our moans a bit, and the slow gyrations were barely noticeable. To anyone who could even find us back here, it would just look like I was sitting on his lap. There were plenty of other, more inappropriately overt, displays of affection going on in plain sight on the hill.

I could feel the familiar burn growing in my stomach, and worked to increase the speed of my motions. I wanted us to come together, both figuratively and literally.

"Baby, I'm close. Come with me." Edward nodded and grabbed my hips pushing as deeply as he could into me without hurting himself. A couple more deep grinds and we were coming undone together, breathing heavily as Edward pulled me close and buried his head between my breasts.

In that moment, all was forgotten. The angry words we had both said, the words that went unsaid that should have been spoken, the separation, all of it. I don't think I had ever felt as close to him in the last ten years than I did at that moment. Both of us felt the weight of emotion and as I fought to hold back my own tears, I felt Edward's drop between my breasts.

"I love you so much," I choked out.

"I love you, too, my Bella," he replied. "I'm going to ask you to marry me, but you have to trust me. It's the one thing that is all on me, and it has to be right."

My heart swelled and the tears were threatening to come again. Why couldn't he have said that when this all started? That's all I needed to hear. It was the final closure on the cause of our separation. The moment was perfect until a horrifying revelation presented itself as Edward softened inside me. I wasn't wearing any underwear and that would be a problem.

Our moment now over, Edward realized my predicament, reached for his backpack and quickly produced a small towel, discreetly shoving it under my skirt between us.

"Well, aren't you the boy scout?" I joked airily.

"That's me, always prepared," he grinned. "If you get your bikini bottoms out of your bag, I'll hold my bigger towel up while you put them on." He added.

"Aww, baby, you think of everything, thank you." I kissed him quickly on the lips as he made quick work with the small towel of cleaning us up and putting his boys away again.

Once, we were straightened out and I had my bikini bottoms on, we made our way to the water park. Rose and Emmett were already waiting at the entrance for us.

"All talked out?" Emmett asked innocently.

"Yes, I think we definitely got everything out that we needed to," Edward replied stoically. I coughed to hide my snort. We had gotten everything out, TWICE today already.

We were only waiting a few moments before Alice and Jasper joined us. Jasper looked incredibly relaxed. Alice looked a bit flushed, but definitely happy. She winked at me as Jasper fist pumped Edward. I'd have to talk to Alice about making So Loco work for me too.

**End Note: Great reviews from last chapter, but no one had any amusement park antics to share…really? Or are you just shy? ;-) Come on…tell me about it in a review.**

**Follow me on Twitter (at)Cilla_1970 and Edward (at)Vegward as well. Also, look for a review coming up on TwiFicPromotions shortly. I'm really excited about it.**

**Reviews are better than Edward in a testicle cuff, so go do it.**

**Cilla**


	9. 9 Floating Down That Lazy River

**A/N: Stephenie still owns it all. I own Vegward and his mesh shorts.**

**Thank you for the overwhelming response to the last chapter, it made this one so easy to write. So much so that it's earlier than I expected. I was going to wait until tomorrow to post in honor of Bella's birthday, but I'm way too impatient for that so here it is. More at the bottom.**

**On we go.**

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**Floating Down That Lazy River**

**Chapter 9**

**~Edward~**

I had changed my mind about what my plan was so many times throughout the course of the day I was giving myself whiplash. However, Bella's insistence on the hill to just be together had made all thoughts of a plan of any kind fly out the window. I realized then that my tendency to have everything mapped out, be in control, and know what's coming had been a very large part of the reason for our separation.

I needed to start living in the moment and enjoying her and us, so that's what I did, and fuck if it wasn't the hottest thing I'd ever seen. Watching Bella move on top of me, her eyes filled with lust and love as we came together was the perfect moment. I had to tell her then that the one plan I had in my control, that was all mine, would be my proposal to her, and I left no doubt that there would be a proposal.

I wasn't sure if today was going to be the right day anymore, but it was looking that way. I decided to just go with the flow though and see what happened. If the moment arose when I thought it would be right, I would do it. If not, it could wait. Fuck the plan.

As we walked into the water park hand in hand, my body was still humming from our tryst under the tree. If we let go for a second, my body followed her like a magnet seeking it's polar opposite, not satisfied until it joined it's other half again.

"Edward, you're going to have to let her go for a moment," Alice chirped at me, "we have to go change."

I rolled my eyes and pulled Bella back to me for a searing kiss before letting her go with Alice and Rose to the change rooms.

"You," I said simply as Bella walked away.

"You, too" she replied over her shoulder and winked at me.

It was nice that we just slipped right back into our old habits. That was our way of saying 'I love you' without saying it. Every now and then one of us would turn to the other and just say 'you'. It was all we had to say.

Jasper looked at me and shook his head, chuckling to himself.

"What?" I asked with a stupid grin on my face.

"You two, man. It's so easy for you. I don't get how it took you this long to sort all this shit out, when you can just fall back to being Edward and Bella so effortlessly."

"Me either, and it's not without effort, but it's been a fucking great day so far, and it's only going to get better," I said slapping him on the shoulder. "So…So Loco…you're looking relaxed," I added wiggling my eyebrow.

"Fuck man, you have got to get Bella over the dizziness. We planned it this time, and I'm not just talking hand action, I'm talking full penetration." I laughed loudly and started choking at how blunt he was. He was childlike in his enthusiasm over such an adult subject.

"Yeah, man. Wardrobe choices are everything and I was inside her before the ride even started. Do you have any idea what it's like to come while you're upside down? Fucking mind-blowing man."

I chuckled again. "Uh, yeah Jazz, I have some idea, maybe not quite upside down, but…" I paused not sure what to add. "I totally get the wardrobe choice thing though. We've been doing that for years. Skirts are a must as well as elastic waist shorts…easy access, easy removal. Although, sometimes it can be a little uncomfortable." I unconsciously reached to adjust my balls that were aching a bit from recent activities. I was looking forward to getting in the cold water.

"Wave pool, fuckers!" Emmett yelled as he came running at us out of nowhere and smacked the back of our heads.

"Fuck, Emmett. That hurt!" I whined. "Where's Rose anyway? I thought she was in the change room with the girls."

"She changed and came out. She's not going in the water she says, so she found some loungers in the roped off bar patio area. When we're not swimming, we can drink! Except she can't, but hey, I'll pay for it being on DD duty for fucking years after the kid's born I'm sure. Today, brother," he swung his arm around my shoulder "and brother-in-law," and did the same to Jasper, "we celebrate!"

"What are we celebrating, Em?" Jasper asked.

"What are we celebrating? Seriously? We are celebrating the reuniting of my dickhead brother and the love of his life, after the biggest clusterfuck of misunderstandings in history. We're also celebrating the demise of the moody fucker who's been living in his body for the last couple of months, and the fact that he finally got laid again." Emmett boomed with laughter, as I looked at him slightly puzzled. How did he know? See, I told you…not dumb at all.

"Edward, did you really think I didn't know about you and Bella? I know what freaks you are. She talks to Rose sometimes." I shuffled uncomfortably. I knew Bella was more comfortable talking to Alice, but had told Rose some things. Obviously, Rose shared with her husband…my brother. Fuck. "Besides, Rose and I have done a thing or two that I'm sure even you idiots haven't in this park."

Really? All these years, and I never knew. I thought it was mine and Bella's thing that we or rather, I had convinced Jazz was a fun way to spend the day.

Emmett was still going on. "I remember this one time…three years ago I think, we were on that log ride and she was leaning forward over my lap pretending not to want to get wet. Rosie did this thing with her tongue, man…"

"Emmett! Rainbows and fucking ponies, man, that's my sister you're talking about." Jasper yelled then plugged his ears and began singing 'la la la la'.

Thankfully, Alice and Bella came out of the change rooms at that moment giggling between the two of them. Clearly, they'd been sharing as well.

"Where's Rose?" Alice asked as Bella wound herself around me once again and I kissed the top of her head. Life was good.

"She got us loungers on the patio," Jasper indicated to where Rose was now sitting and waving at us.

"Ok, well. Are you guys going to do the Black Hole and the Death Slide? Bella and I can go keep Rose company until you come back," she said.

The girls had this irrational fear of the large tube ride that was totally in the dark and the steep straight drop slide. Emmett, Jasper, and I always did those on our own. I had other ideas about what I was going to do with the time away from Bella.

"Sounds good to me," I said. We'll come get you when we're done and we can go to the wave pool or the lazy river." Bella looked up at me with those gorgeous brown eyes and smiled. I kissed her lips softly and handed her my bag. "You," I added softly as we walked away.

Once we were out of sight of them and on our way to the Death Slide. I pulled Jasper back to tell him what I wanted to do.

"I thought I caught something in your eye when Alice mentioned it earlier," he said. "Do you think they will still let you use their equipment? Do you want me to do it with you again?"

"I hope so. Not everyone would have known it was happening today. I'll be back as quick as I can, and no Jazz, not this time, but thanks." I left him to explain to Emmett and took off out of the water park to the amphitheatre box office.

I had no idea that we had picked a day when they were doing open mic at the amphitheatre again until Alice mentioned she saw the sign when we were at the first roller coaster. As soon as she mentioned it, I knew I had to do it. Jasper caught my reaction and I think he knew that I would want to do it.

The open mic at the amphitheatre happened every year, but we weren't always at the park on the day it happened. In high school, Jasper, Emmett and I were in a band that did a lot of Battle of the Bands competitions and played for school variety shows and stuff. We were good and gained quite a following. A couple of times we'd done the open mic at the park and actually found that we had groupies. We found it amusing. Bella, Rosalie and Alice weren't so thrilled with the extra attention we got from the girls.

A handful of times since then we had been in the park for open mic and Jasper and I had done guitar duets of some sort, but Emmett hadn't played drums in years. They always provided the equipment and the organizers would judge the winners based on crowd applause. The prize was usually free passes to the park for the next year or something like that. It was nothing big, but enough to make us want to perform.

As a music teacher, I was around music all the time, but rarely got the chance to perform any more, and I loved it. I know Jazz missed it too, but I wanted to do this one myself. I knew exactly what I wanted to do and it only needed to be a guitar and me. I had no doubt that Bella had forgiven me and we could move forward now. I wanted to show her that I knew what our problem was and I was not above admitting that I was most definitely human and could and would make mistakes. The song I had chosen would also tell her that this affected me too, but that we were stronger together now.

When I got to the amphitheatre box office, there was a small line of people also waiting to register. I was worried that I would take too long and Bella would wonder where I was, but it moved quickly and I was able to register and request an acoustic guitar. The stage manager was in the booth at the time and recognized me from previous years. Apparently, my hair gave me away. He said he would make sure to put me near the end of the set, because 'I was worth waiting for'. While I was flattered, it made me quite nervous about how I was going to do this without Bella knowing anything about it. I would have to be gone for a good portion of the performances before mine, and that's not even thinking about getting everybody into the amphitheatre to begin with. I didn't have time to stress about it, so I thanked him and ran back to the water park as quickly as I could.

I found Emmett and Jasper just coming off the Death Slide when I got back. Thankfully, the line was long, so I was still going to be able to do Black Hole with them, and Bella would not suspect a thing. Jasper had filled Emmett in and they both said they would let Rose and Alice know so it would be easy to convince Bella to go watch if everybody wanted to go.

"So is this part of your grand plan?" Jasper asked as we headed for the Black Hole.

"Yes and no," I replied cryptically.

"What the fuck does that mean?" chimed Emmett. "What plan?"

"Our boy here had a plan to propose to Bella today," said Jasper. I was staring at him wide eyed shaking my head, imploring him not to say anything else to my brother. This could only end badly. He would make fun of me, I would get mad and either punch him which would in turn cause him to punch me back and I always lost our fights. Or, I'd get moody and snap at everyone, including Bella, for the rest of the day. Before Emmett could say anything, I answered Jasper.

"Yes, it's part of my plan to apologize and ensure we're back on solid ground. No, I'm not going to propose from the stage. I've got other plans for that, and I don't think it's going to happen here tonight. You were right, Jazz, it's too soon."

"My baby brother, all grown up," Emmett chuckled. "It's about fucking time you pulled your finger out and made an honest woman of her." He ruffled my hair and pushed my head forward. Okay, that was annoying, but not the reaction I was expecting. I thought he would have a multitude of comments about my insistence on planning everything or why would Bella still want to marry me now. I did not have to have a smart comeback, so there wasn't much I could say.

"I'm hardly you're baby brother Em. You're only seven months older than me." Maybe it didn't have to be a smart comeback, but I had to have the last word.

The line for the Black Hole moved quickly. Jasper and I shared a raft and Emmett went on his own. It was just safer that way. He usually made his raft climb the walls of the tube to the point of almost going upside down and he'd try to go faster. His voice echoed behind us booming, "I'm coming to get you fuckers!" He may have been seven months older in age, but YEARS younger in mentality. I feared for the new baby and Rose's sanity.

We found the girls lazing on loungers with sunglasses on, sipping fruity drinks in their hands. Alice and Bella were obviously into their second or even third margarita as they were giggling far too much. Rose was sipping on what I can only assume was a virgin daiquiri. She pulled her sunglasses down her nose, looked over them at the girls then back at Jasper and me, and rolled her eyes.

"I don't know what you guys did to them, but they've been like this since you left. It's fucking annoying. Could you maybe take them swimming or something?" She waved her hand dismissively as if ordering her courtiers to do her bidding. Jasper and I exchanged knowing smirks and nodded to each other.

"Our pleasure, milady," we said together, bowing and twirling our hands in front of us in acquiescence like the princes we were to Her Royal Highness.

"Come, my dear," I said to Bella in my best fake English accent as I reached for her hand, "let us away to the lazy river. Her Majesty is no longer in need of your services since her fair knight has returned."

I cracked myself up sometimes. I was definitely no Emmett, but I could make them laugh every now and then and I loved hearing Bella giggle. Luckily, Rose found the humor in it as well. She laughed as she pulled Emmett down to sit with her and waved us away with her nose in the air and a smirk on her face.

Jasper and Alice elected to go straight to the wave pool, but Bella and I made our way to the lazy river. Once we had settled in our individual rafts and set off, we found our way to each other and hooked our legs over each other's rafts. I stroked Bella's silky smooth legs while she played with my feet and toes as we floated slowly along.

"You have pretty toes," she said, pulling on my big toe.

"Uh, thank you, I think. I'm not sure I like the idea of anything on me being called pretty though." I laughed. "You've seen my feet thousands of times and you've never said anything before." I mused further.

"I know, it's just…," she paused for a while and it seemed like she did not want to finish her thought.

"It's just what, baby? Talking, remember? We're going to do lots of it, about everything, no matter how trivial." I urged.

"You're going to think I'm such a girl and sappy and totally not that strong, independent woman you told Jacob I was."

"Baby, you are a girl, and I love all the bits that make you a girl." I wiggled my eyebrows. "And, nothing you say will make me think you are anything less than the strong, independent woman who keeps me on my toes. So out with it." I squeezed her legs playfully in encouragement.

"Fine. It's just that I've really missed you, and I've kind of been taking in every inch of you," she giggled at her unintentional double entendre and squinted her eyes playfully at me. "I mean figuratively, although the 'literally' was definitely a highlight of the day." She winked. "What I mean is I'm taking the time to really take you in again." I wiggled my eyebrows again and she smacked my leg. "Edward, stop it! You know what I mean. I'm just appreciating all your features and attributes since I haven't had a chance to look at them in a while and that includes your pretty toes. There are other parts of you that are incredibly pretty as well, but I haven't had the chance to look up close and personal properly yet, since I took them _in _a little too much to see." It was her turn to wiggle her eyebrows now.

I chuckled at her confession, but my heart was doing leapfrogs in my chest. That was probably one of the cutest things she'd ever said to me in all our time together. It started me thinking that maybe our separation had not been an entirely bad thing. The cause was regrettable, but it felt to me now like we were truly entering a new phase in our relationship.

I think that we had become a little stale and complacent after being together for so long. Our sex life was never stale, but as the saying goes 'sex isn't everything', and for the first time in my sexually active life, I believed it. The other saying that 'talking is overrated' is absolutely not true. I was getting just as much from this simple conversation as I had from our lovemaking earlier. However, if you had tried to convince me of that a few months ago, I would have laughed in your face. Now, I felt like I was falling in love all over again. Yes, Emmett, here's my dick, you can put it right beside the box with yours that Rosalie keeps stashed somewhere. Deal with it.

I know I must sound like an emotionally retarded asshole, and I think that maybe I was to a degree. Of course, I loved Bella and I told her often. My obsession with having things planned out perfectly had been the catalyst to our fight. It took this separation, and this day in particular of our reunion, for me to feel the shift in my thinking and have the epiphany that planning things and waiting for the right moment to do something was not always the best course. Spontaneity was not necessarily a bad thing, and clearly Bella had embraced that notion and I was just going to go with it. But, I was happy to just go with it and that's a first and a huge step in the right direction for me.

I suddenly realized that in my reflective state, I had not responded to Bella's earnest confession and she was staring at me with concern. I leaned forward in my raft to run my hands further up her legs to her thighs, careful not to tip myself over.

"Do you have any idea how cute you are or how much I love you right now?" I said sincerely.

"I don't want to be cute, baby ducks are cute," she pouted. "I want to be sexy and alluring and mysterious."

I laughed again. "Bella, you are all of those things, and the fact that you asserted what you do and don't want to be is only further affirmation that you are the strong, independent woman I alluded to before. It's just who you are, and I love you for it."

Bella did not say anything more to that, but I could have sworn I saw her mouth 'wow' as we finished our tour on the lazy river. We disconnected our legs and I jumped off my raft to help her out of hers.

Once we cleared the exit area we strolled slowly back to the wave pool, our arms once again finding themselves wrapped around each other. I could feel a shift in us. We felt closer, more connected than we ever had. It was so much more than it had ever been, and I could not truly explain why. We walked into the water that was calm for the moment and continued until I was waist deep and Bella was almost shoulder deep. As it got too deep for Bella, I swung her around and lifted her up so I was holding her with her legs wrapped around my waist. Her hands found the back of my neck and played with my hair as our eyes connected.

Out of the corner of my eye, I spotted Jasper and Alice in a similar position to us, but could not bring myself to pull my gaze away from Bella long enough to catch their attention. The siren sounded indicating that the waves were about to begin and a chorus of screams echoed around us in anticipation of the onslaught of water.

I stood firm as the waves began to roll over us and I pulled Bella's body tighter to me. She crashed her lips into mine and our tongues began to do a sensual dance in time with the waves that enveloped us. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't getting turned on. In fact, my dick felt like it was trying to crawl out the top of my shorts and into her, but something in this was different too. Instead of feeling the need to find yet another place to have a secret little tryst, all I wanted to do was hold her, kiss her, and _talk _to her.

I pulled away from her slowly, but still kept her tight in my grasp, placing a few more chaste kisses on her lips.

"Tell me what you've been doing for the last couple of months. What's new in the world of natural resources and animal conservation?" She looked at me a little bewildered by my question, but her eyes lit up.

"You really want to know? I thought my work bored you." Dammit. Yet another failing on my part to fix.

The truth was, her work was not the most exciting thing on the planet to most people. She had her masters in biology and was working towards her Ph.D. while working for the Department of Natural Resources dealing with animal populations and maintaining the 'natural order' of the food chain without letting any one species overpopulate or become endangered. I never wanted her to think I was bored by it. I wasn't that interested in it, but then she had never shown great enthusiasm for my music.

"I want to know…tell me," I encouraged without acknowledging her accusation.

She kissed me quickly on the lips as the waves subsided again.

"Ok, well we're studying the mountain lions at the moment. There's been a drastic drop in the population recently and it has everyone a little concerned. There doesn't seem to be a good explanation for it and if things keep up, they'll be moved from least concerned to near threatened according to the IUCN."

My eyes must have glazed over a bit, but I was listening and it did sound almost interesting.

"What's the IUCN?"

"The International Union for Conservation of Nature. They're the people who officially decide when a species is endangered or nearing extinction. It's a big deal when a species gets a new designation, especially when it's in the wrong direction." This was such an odd conversation to be having in the position we were in, but if felt so good to really talk to her. I mused again at how pathetic I had been throughout our relationship. Always listening to her talk, but never really _hearing_ what she was saying. How could we have gone on like that for so long? This was so much better.

"Stop it," she said suddenly.

"Stop what?" I asked, kissing her neck.

"Stop you're brain working overtime about stuff in the past. It's in the past, this is the present, and we're working on a future. I mean _really _working on a future. Nothing has to be like it was before. It can all be brand new. I feel it too, Edward."

Well, damn. Busted again. My girl was so smart and beautiful, and was really calling me on my shit. I loved it!

"Tell me about school," she said sweetly.

"Well, Glee Club finished second in the Regionals. There's one girl; she's a junior, who I think has a phenomenal voice so I'm going to write her a recommendation for Julliard. The Senior Band is ok, but there aren't any real stand out musicians there. My sophomore class has some guys who want to form a band, but they don't have a singer and they want my help. They have the guitarists and the drummer, so I'm also going to see if Angela, that's the junior, wants to sing with them and do some contemporary stuff instead of just being channeled into classical and Broadway type stuff. It reminded me of when we were younger, and we had the band. I'm really looking forward to it and it made me want to perform again."

I couldn't help pulling her in for another kiss that was perhaps a little over the PG rating line for a pool full of children. Bella giggled and pulled away, sensing we were headed into dangerously inappropriate territory. I spotted Jasper and Alice leaving the water and thought it was probably time we did too, but the look Bella was giving me really made me want to hold onto her for just a little longer.

The music talk had given me my way in to getting her to go to the amphitheater later, but it also made me want to reconsider not having Jasper's help. Now I was thinking that I wanted Emmett as well. Instead of one song, I wanted two. One would be me and a guitar and the other would be all three of us, if I could convince them to do the song I wanted. I wasn't worried about Jasper picking it up, but Em was a bit out of practice. I just knew that the song I wanted to do would be perfect.

We finally made our way out of the pool and joined the others on the loungers. We spent another hour or so drinking, sunbathing, and swimming, before we all changed into normal clothes for our evening in the park. I managed to get Jasper and Emmett off to the side at one point and they agreed to join me for open mic after my first song. Emmett had a mini freak out, but assured me he knew the song and could pick up the beat easily. Of course, I was assuming they'd let me do two songs.

Well, well, if my fucking plan wasn't changing again. Spontaneity: embrace it. It was becoming my new mantra.

* * *

**End Note: Credit to the movie Bull Durham for giving me one of Bella's lines. I love that movie and the line fit perfectly. Do you know which one? Tell me in a review please? **

**Thank you to Suzie55, my beta, for her endless love and encouragement, and to sscana for pre-reading and giving that all-important third eye. I didn't know I needed it until I had her.**

**Come play with me and Vegward on Twitter, I'm Cilla_1970 there.**


	10. 10 Someday Is Now

**A/N: Yep, last time I checked, Stephenie still had all of it.**

**Firstly, Bella's line from Bull Durham was the one about baby ducks. Susan Sarandon didn't want to be called cute, even by Kevin Costner, and neither does Bella.**

**I suck at review replies, but I try to do at least some every chapter. I read every single one of them, and I thank each of you for taking the time tell me what you're thinking.**

**It normally takes me two weeks to get a chapter out and the first week is spent stressing over just how things are going to go down. This chapter comes to you a mere 4 days after the last because it's one I've been working towards since the beginning. I hope I have done it the justice I wanted to in my head. I'm sorry for being a ruthless Canadian band pimp…yes, that includes Nickelback..haha. Blue Rodeo are playing in my town on Saturday...soo excited.**

**More at the bottom.**

* * *

**Chapter 10**

**Someday is Now**

**~Bella~**

This day was turning out to be everything and nothing I expected all at the same time. I started today feeling horny, missing Edward and tired of the silence. It may sound, a bit harsh, and more than a little bit selfish, but all I wanted to do was get off like I always did at the park and hoped that in the process, Edward and I could salvage something of our relationship by the end of the day. I had accomplished all of that and so much more. We were finding a deeper connection and I wasn't sure if it was one that we had lost over time or never truly had to begin with.

The Edward I knew and loved was here with me and we were together again, but this version of him was evolving before my eyes. He wanted to talk and he was never very far away from me before he seemed to have the overwhelming need to find his way right back to my side. We used to be like that a long time ago, back in the beginning.

When we first got together, we would sit for hours and talk about anything and everything, but would often be content just to be in each other's company in silence as long as we could touch the other. He would share his dreams of making music a career in any fashion whether it be performing or teaching, and I would talk about my love of wildlife and my hope to make a difference in some way in preserving nature. He told me secrets about his family that made me laugh, like how Esme's father was only her adoptive and not biological father, but he had adopted her because he believed she was his. Esme's mother had an affair with him while married to her first husband. Scandalous for that era! There were other tales of Carlisle's heritage being rooted somewhere in the Irish mafia that went toe to toe with Capone in Chicago during prohibition.

The most shocking story Edward told was of Esme and Carlisle joining a nudist colony when he and Emmett were three. He said he didn't know you were supposed to wear a bathing suit swimming until he was almost ten. He also said that being part of the nudist colony caused Esme and Carlisle to experiment with swinging with other couples. How he actually knew about that, I was afraid to ask. He would always follow up a story with 'I can't believe I'm telling you this', or 'you get all my secrets out of me'. Some of them I wished he hadn't told me. It made it very difficult to sit at a dinner table with his family without giggling to myself or trying to picture Carlisle, the ultimate DILF, wandering around a pool with his tallywacker swinging free.

For my part, I did not have nearly such exciting, sordid, or scandalous tales to tell. The only one was that my parents, Charlie and Renee, got married because they had to when they were eighteen because my mother was pregnant with me. As often happens with teen marriages, they didn't last. Renee always told me that although she loved Charlie, he was not her great love. She believed that my stepfather, Phil was, and that was one of the driving factors in my moving to Forks. Phil was nice enough, and judging by the noises that came from their bedroom, he was nothing short of a religious experience for Renee. I decided they needed their alone time, so I left to live with Charlie. That was the extent of the excitement in my family life, unless you count that Renee's maiden name was Higginbotham. I laugh every time I say it.

By the time we graduated high school and moved off to college, we knew every secret there was to know about the other. We knew each other's ambitions and hopes for the future and as they were ticked off as accomplished one by one, there was less and less to talk about. I know I make it sound like we weren't happy, we were, and our sex life was never an issue. We just got comfortable. Our fights were rare, but usually ended in one or both of us crying, although he would never admit that he was crying and I hated him seeing my face all blotchy and swollen from tears. We would go to separate rooms, cool down, then come back together and make love; fight over. I knew Edward was my great love and I knew he was my future and that meant accepting certain things about him. I don't think he would be considered clinically obsessive compulsive, but it was close.

Every trip we took was planned to the last detail with an itinerary of excursions and scheduled 'down time'. Christmas shopping had to be finished before December 15th. Dinner at home had to be between 6 and 6:30 on 'school nights' to allow for proper digestion before going to sleep. He was equally responsible for cooking so it was not as if he was demanding I have dinner on the table. We had to have at least a thirty-five percent deposit when we bought the house to avoid extra costs in mortgage insurance, and a specific dollar amount each had to be set aside from each pay to accomplish that before we bought the house. Everything Edward did was with a plan or purpose in mind, and most of the time there was some practical application that made it acceptable.

As time moved on and Edward didn't make any indication that he was going to ask me to marry him, I began to wonder if I was not part of his plans. After all, if a wedding was in the cards, we should have been on a meticulous schedule for saving money to pay for it. Emmett and Rosalie got married right after college, and Jasper and Alice were newly engaged. I figured that Edward and I had been together long enough and built enough of a joint life that it was reasonable to discuss it with him.

That night at the beach, was as much my fault as Edward's. I knew I was pushing his buttons when I was telling him _how _he should propose. Alice and Jasper's engagement was the icing on a 'when the hell are you two getting married' cake that had been shoved down my throat by both Renee, and Billy Black of all people.

Billy and Charlie were best friends and I think they both secretly hoped that Jacob and I would get together and we would all be one happy family. Charlie had given up on that idea by the time Edward and I went to college together and he genuinely liked Edward. Charlie and I would visit with Billy and Jacob together for a meal every now and then. The bad blood between Jake and Edward was no secret, so Edward stayed away, just to avoid any confrontation.

During these Black/Swan dining experiences in the last year or so, Billy had taken to saying things like 'my Jacob would have married you by now' or 'you and Jacob would have beautiful children'. I always took it in stride, and told Billy that Jake and I were, and always would be, just friends. Edward never liked it when I saw Jake, and was always convinced that he was orchestrating the frequent gatherings to get me away from him. Sometimes Charlie would settle in for the night with Billy with a couple of six packs and Jake would drive me home. He would joke about what Billy had said and if Edward was outside waiting for me when I got home, Jake could never resist making some comment to get under Edward's skin.

That night on the beach, I played Edward like a fiddle. I undermined his need to make his own plan _and _I ran to Jake. He shouldn't have said what he did or made the assumptions he did, but I stuck the crank in his back, wound it up, and watched him go. I just never expected it to go as far as it did. The separation was regrettable, but I cannot say it was unnecessary because it had led us to this day and I would not trade that for anything.

This brings me to the Edward that was with me at the park. He was evolving before my eyes, taking and relinquishing control as necessary. We were rediscovering each other in all senses, both physically and emotionally. It was as if our relationship was brand new again, but with all knowledge in place for a happy and successful future together.

As had become our practice throughout the day, Edward and I clung to each other as we all exited the water park and continued through the park. We hadn't made any decisions on our next destination until we came across another sign for the Open Mic evening that Alice mentioned earlier.

"Wanna go watch?" Jasper said, hesitantly and I understood why. Usually, Edward and Jasper did something if we were there for Open Mic, and I guess Jasper wasn't sure if Edward would want to watch if he wasn't performing.

"Why not," Edward answered flatly. "I'm a little waterlogged and not up for more rides at the moment. It's a place to sit and kill time." He looked down at me for approval and I shrugged and nodded that it was fine with me.

"Sounds good, little brother," added Emmett with enthusiasm as we continued through the park to the amphitheater.

"Emmett, please knock of the 'little brother' shit, it's getting old," Edward commented dryly.

"Ah, little brother, it will never get old, because you are A. younger than me, not by much, but younger nevertheless, and B. smaller than me, hence you will always be my _little_ brother." He laughed and ruffled Edward's hair, which I know only served to irritate him further.

It was now early evening as we headed over to the amphitheater, and were surprised at how many people were already there. We decided to set up camp on the grass at the back rather than squashing into seats and spread towels out to sit on. Emmett and Jasper left for the concession stands and came back with multitudes of snacks for us to munch on while we waited for the show to begin.

The acts this year were painful to watch and after the third performance, Edward excused himself to the bathroom saying the pretzels he ate weren't sitting well with him. Another four acts performed and Edward still wasn't back and I was getting concerned.

"Want me to go check on him?" Jasper whispered in my ear.

"Could you? I don't know what's taking so long." I replied sadly.

"No problem, B." He rose and started off.

Emmett stood up and stretched as Jasper was leaving and I guess he figured out where he was going.

"Hold up, Jazzman. I gotta drain the snake so I'll come with you," he said, and they set off together for the bathrooms.

We were subjected to two more painful performers trying to sing some Whitney Houston song or other, and now Jasper and Emmett were MIA as well.

I was just about to ask Alice and Rosalie if we should go look for them when the next performer came on the stage with a stool and an acoustic guitar. I knew that mop of unruly bronze hair as soon as he came on stage and I felt a smile play across my face. Of course, he wouldn't sit here and watch without performing, but I wondered why he hadn't told me.

"Our next performer is Edward Cullen," the amphitheater announcer said and polite applause followed from the crowd.

I looked at Alice and Rosalie and they smiled and shrugged as Edward sat on the stool and arranged the microphone at the correct height in front of him. He picked a couple of test notes on the guitar and then he spoke.

"So, uh…I haven't done this for a while, but I used to come here as a kid. Some of you may remember Dawn Eclipse when we did Battle of the Bands way back." He chuckled and a few people whistled or cheered in recognition. "This song is for someone who has been special to me for a very long time. We kind of lost our magic for a while, but I think we're getting it back. This is Bulletproof by a Canadian band called Blue Rodeo. Hope you like it."

He played the opening flawlessly on the guitar and when he started to sing, I felt butterflies in my stomach. I loved Edward's voice, but I didn't get to hear it nearly enough any more.

_**Tell me one more time again**_

_**Just like I didn't hear you**_

_**Like I don't know what's going through your mind, I do**_

_**I play the same game too**_

_**You know it's hard to stop**_

_**Even when you want to**_

Oh the games we played. We never heard what the other was saying and we avoided the issues. When make up sex is what you get for fighting, why resolve the issue when you can skip straight to the sex? I'd heard Edward play this song on his guitar before, but I don't think either of us had really stopped to pay attention to how the lyrics applied to us, and as I listened, I realized that this song could have been written about us. I began to sing along.

_**Now the moon lights up your face**_

_**And I can see you're crying**_

_**You never liked me to see you cry, it's true**_

_**I've done some crying too**_

_**You know the hardest part about it**_

_**Is trying to hide it from you**_

He always tried, but I always knew. Just like this afternoon on the hill.

_**It would be great to be so strong**_

_**Never needing anybody else to get along**_

_**But we're so scared of the silence and the tricks that we use**_

_**Oh We're careful and we're cunning, but we're easily bruised**_

_**I don't want to lie about it**_

_**I'm not bulletproof**_

No, he wasn't, but he was still my hero.

_**Well I finally found a way**_

_**To hide from all your glances**_

_**Til the waiting game we play is through**_

_**I can, but what's the use**_

_**When all I really want to do is hide out with you**_

I was lost in the words. It seemed every verse and every part of the chorus was a siren song to our relationship.

_**It would be great to be so strong**_

_**Never needed anybody's help to get along**_

_**We're so scared of the silence and the language that we use**_

_**Oh we're careful and we're cunning, but we're easily bruised**_

_**I don't want to kid about it**_

_**I'm not bulletproof**_

_**Tell me one more time again**_

_**Well I guess I didn't hear you**_

_**And I don't know all the secrets that you keep inside**_

_**I tried the same thing too**_

_**But they all come pouring out of me when I'm talking to you**_

_**Well it would be great to be so strong**_

_**Never needing anybody else's help to carry on**_

_**But I'm not waking up each morning with forgiveness I can use**_

_**Oh I'm careless, and I'm cruel, but I'm still easily bruised**_

Those last lines, made me grasp my mouth and suck back a sob. He had certainly been careless and cruel with his words, but I had hurt him too. Now we had forgiven each other and we could move on together.

_**I'm so tired of lying about it **_

_**I'm not bulletproof**_

_**Oh and I'm not gonna lie about it**_

_**I'm not bulletproof**_

I was vaguely aware of Rose and Alice putting their arms around me as the crowd erupted in applause, Edward took his bow humbly, and I wiped a stray tear from my eye. This was the new and improved Edward, telling me that he knew we needed to talk more, and that there was no need to hide anything from each other. I was disappointed that Emmett and Jasper had not made it back to us to see Edward sing and I wondered what was taking them so long since obviously we now knew where Edward was. All I wanted to do was run backstage, find him, and throw my arms around him. It may seem strange, but I felt like I'd been serenaded with my own personal love song. The words didn't profess undying love, but they spoke volumes to me. I waited for Edward to leave the stage, so I could go to him.

Instead of leaving the stage, as was customary after the one song each performer did, Edward remained there, picked up his stool, and moved it off to the side as I saw some movement behind him on the stage. I turned to look at Alice and Rose, and I was going to ask them yet again if they knew where their boys were. They both stared at me with the silliest smiles on their faces and indicated with their eyes to look back at the stage.

Edward was standing at the microphone still with the acoustic guitar around his neck. Emmett who was now sitting at the drums and Jasper who was wielding an electric guitar had joined him at the front of the stage. My jaw dropped in complete shock.

"Close your mouth, you'll catch flies," said Rosalie grinning.

"Did you guys know about this?" I asked once I finally found a voice again.

Alice's rapid clapping and jumping up and down told me that they did.

"Not until today, actually," she said. "Edward decided when I saw the sign this morning about the solo song, and he just decided in the water park that he wanted to do this with them." She gestured her head to the stage. "Only the guys knew what songs he wanted to do. Jazz was freaking out a bit that he didn't remember the song. Emmett was cool though even though he hasn't played for so long."

"Yeah, he told me he just had to 'bang on the bass and tap the snare'," Rose added in her best Emmett imitation.

Edward laughed into the microphone apparently to something Emmett had said as his head was turned over his shoulder in that direction.

"Ok, I guess I'm breaking the rules a bit here by doing another song, but I kind of called in a favor. Behind me are Emmett on drums and Jasper on guitar and a very long time ago, we were Dawn Eclipse." There was another smattering of cheers and whistles. "We're missing a bassist and we haven't rehearsed at all, so this could go very badly, but it's just another lame attempt by me to make things right or better or whatever. Anyway, this is Someday by Nickelback.

I had to laugh at the choice of song. It was again somewhat fitting for our particular situation, but not exactly your traditional love song.

Edward once again strummed the opening chords on his acoustic and launched into the first verse. His voice was much more suited to the raspiness of this song.

_**How the hell did we wind up like this?**_

_**Why weren't we able, to see the signs that we missed**_

_**And try turn the tables**_

Jasper and Emmett joined in with the drums and electric guitar, and I was amazed that they sounded like they had been doing this forever. They hadn't played as a band for at least seven years.

_**I wish you'd unclench your fists, and unpack your suitcase**_

_**Lately there's been too much of this**_

_**But don't think it's too late**_

Emmett beat the drums for the introduction into the chorus like he'd never been away from them. I was so impressed, and by the look on Rosalie's face, I'd have to say she was too.

_**Nothing's wrong, just as long as**_

_**You know that someday I will**_

_**Someday, somehow**_

_**I'm gonna make it all right but not right now**_

_**I know you're wondering when**_

_**(You're the only one who knows that)**_

Jasper's background harmony was amazing. Alice was almost as much of a blubbering mess as I was.

_**Someday, somehow**_

_**I'm gonna make it all right but not right now**_

_**I know you're wondering when**_

_**Well I'd hope that since we're here anyway**_

_**That we could end up saying**_

_**Things we've always needed to say**_

_**So we could end up staying**_

_**Now the story's played out like this**_

_**Just like a paperback novel**_

_**Let's rewrite an ending that fits**_

_**Instead of a Hollywood horror**_

_**Nothing's wrong, just as long as**_

_**You know that someday I will**_

Edward and Jasper did the chorus back and forth again, then Jasper entered into the guitar solo with great enthusiasm and I could see the delight and pride written across Alice's face.

_**How the hell did we wind up like this?**_

_**Why weren't we able, to see the signs that we missed**_

_**And try to turn the tables**_

_**Now the story's played out like this**_

_**Just like a paperback novel**_

_**Let's rewrite an ending that fits**_

_**Instead of a Hollywood horror**_

_**Nothing's wrong, just as long as**_

_**You know that someday I will**_

Emmett once again waved his arms high and beat hard on the tom toms to begin the chorus and as Edward and Jasper finished it, the very last words hung in the air.

_**I know you're wondering when**_

_**(You're the only one who knows that)**_

_**I know you're wondering when**_

The choice of song was almost comical, but it was perfect. I thought there was nothing else he could do to leave me any more shocked or in love with him than I was at that moment, but I was wrong. The crowd was on their feet, screaming, clapping, and asking for more. My eyes were stuck on Edward looking rather sheepish and shy. I could see Jasper and Emmett high-fiving each other behind him. Edward stepped back to the mic and the crowd hushed thinking he was going to sing again.

"You, Bella," he said tenderly.

"You too," I choked through my tears even though I knew he couldn't hear me.

"I know you're wondering when, and I kinda might have fibbed a bit, because I just decided it _is_ now. It wasn't planned or thought out very well, but it feels right. Who knew?" He laughed. "So, will you? You're the only one who knows now."

The crowd didn't seem sure how to react and Jasper and Emmett stood frozen from their previous celebrations. Edward looked like he was searching for me in the crowd, but couldn't see in the lights, and so he turned to Jasper and Emmett and said something that caused them all to leave the stage quickly, and there was some polite but uncomfortable applause.

Alice and Rosalie turned to me, both with their mouths wide open personifying the shock that I was feeling. As I looked at them, an incredible calm came over me for a moment.

"Close your mouths, you'll catch flies," I said, repeating Rose's earlier comment to me, processing the events of the last few minutes.

"But, did he just…?" Alice started.

I tried to reconcile what had just happened in my mind. First, Edward had sung two songs to me that you would seriously not consider serenading material, but to me, and obviously to him, they were perfect. Then he had proposed to me spontaneously with no grand plan in mind. The significance of that was what shocked me more than the proposal itself. He hadn't actually said the words, but it was absolutely clear that's what he was doing. It was so…us. He didn't have to ask the full question, I just knew that's what he was asking. At the same time, it was so _not _him to do something like that, apparently without forethought.

"Yes, he did," I answered simply, wiping tears from my eyes.

Alice was doing her jumping, clapping thing again. Rose was impassive, but I think it was because she sensed that I was having a bit of an internal struggle. The calm I had felt before was quickly being replaced by something else. She patted me on the shoulder, and exchanged looks about Alice's reaction. As our eyes met, we broke out into fits of giggles.

It might have been hysteria on my part as the full realization hit me. Could we go from not speaking to engaged in one day? I figured I had approximately ten minutes to reconcile all my feelings before Edward returned to hear my answer.

I could hear announcements being made and the crowd cheering at various levels. They were determining the winners. I was sure that Edward was going to win, but that hardly seemed significant at that moment. I wondered if he was pulling his hair out backstage as he paced wanting to come to me but knowing he had to wait for the results. I was pacing in circles staring at the ground for what seemed like an eternity. I knew that people were leaving around me, but I was in my own world carrying on a debate in my head that would impress the most seasoned politicians.

The thoughts going through my head were not of whether or not I should marry Edward, but rather that maybe it was too soon after everything that had happened. I didn't realize that I had been gesturing with my hands as I weighed the arguments on each side until someone reminded me.

"You know crazy people talk to themselves," a velvety deep voice said in my ear as firm hands grasped my waist from behind. The interruption made me jump, but his presence calmed me almost instantly.

"You surprised me," I said, not referring to making me jump a second ago.

I turned in his arms and looked up into his eyes. As soon as I did, I was lost and I knew there was only one possible answer I could give him.

He chuckled. "I know. I surprised myself." He was silent for a moment before continuing. "Just so you know, there was a plan." I laughed as he continued. "I had the perfect proposal in mind, and it was going to take place here. I'd been planning it since last year. The mountain, fireworks…the whole deal."

"So why did you…I mean…at the beach you said…" I couldn't reconcile a plan a year in the making with the harsh words he'd said to me.

"Shh. I know. But you know what I'm like when my plans are interfered with." We both laughed and I nodded. We'd already been over this, and I knew all along that was really the root of him lashing out at me.

"Depending on how today went I was going to follow through with that plan. The Open Mic thing came up, and I was going to 'woo' you some more." His hands moved slowly up and down my sides as I played with the front of his shirt not losing eye contact.

"I have learned today, that things change, circumstances change, and therefore, plans must change too. I'm learning to be spontaneous. That's a good thing, right?" He gave me a crooked smile and I nodded as I bit my lip.

"Bella, there was never a time in the last ten years where I didn't see a future with you. I was ALWAYS going to do this. I guess I just got in the way of myself in trying to make it everything I planned. Today has been one of the best days I can ever remember having with you. It's right up there with that first time here, when you wouldn't let me say 'I love you'. I have loved you since I was fifteen years old and I don't see that changing any time soon. I want nothing more than for you to be my wife and my partner forever." Edward stepped back and reached into his knapsack that I hadn't noticed was on his shoulder. He pulled something out of one of the pockets, threw the bag on the ground and knelt down on one knee in front of me. "So, Bella, will you? Will you marry me?" A small black box was sitting in the palm of his hand with the most beautifully simple diamond ring I had ever seen.

The lump in my throat was threatening to prevent me from making any kind of noise, so I began nodding my head vigorously before I finally managed to force out, "yes".

I heard Alice squeal behind me as Edward stood up and took the ring out of the box. He slid it carefully onto the ring finger of my left hand, then brought my hand to his lips and kissed the ring.

I withdrew my hand from his and laid it gently on the side of his cheek. I felt the wetness of a tear that I hadn't realized he was shedding and he tried to withdraw from my touch. I wouldn't let him and instead placed my right hand on his other cheek and wiped the tears with my thumbs.

"Don't try to hide anymore, Edward. I love you." I whispered through my own tears, before bringing his face to mine and sealing my acceptance of his proposal with a slow, soft kiss.

* * *

**End Note: So? Was it what you expected? Did you think he'd do it this soon? Or even at all at the park? Leave me some love and tell me what you thought.**

**Special thanks as always to my beta and dearest friend Suzie55. She makes my story prettier. Her story Welcome to Paradise is really getting the attention it deserves. Jack it from my faves and go check it out.**

**Also thanks to my pre-reader sscana for pointing out the little things that might turn into big things if they made it out of the editing process. She's awesome!**

**For Your Amusement was rec'd on A Darker Twilight on Tuesday for Watery Tuesday. Pure coincidence with the waterpark scene, but it was cool. Can't give you the link right now, but you can Google it..**

**Come play with me and Vegward on Twitter. I'm Cilla_1970 and he's..well, vegward with at's in the beginning, but you knew that already.**


	11. 11 I'm Gonna Make It Alright

**A/N: SM does, I don't. I'm trying my best to deal with it.**

**Had a great response to the last chapter, but just fell short of the 200 mark. I know we're going to bust that this time.**

**This chapter is short and is strictly Edward's perspective on the Open Mic performance and his proposal. In other words, it repeats from last chapter, but with a whole new view. Don't worry, I'm not in the habit of doing this and next chapter the story will once again move forward. It was just important for dear Veggie to have his say in all this.**

**More at the bottom.**

**On we go.**

* * *

**Chapter 11**

**I'm Gonna Make It All Right**

**~Edward~**

Convincing Garrett, the stage manager, to let me do a second song with Jasper & Emmett was not as difficult as I thought. He did remember me, and I reminded him of the time Dawn Eclipse did a double set at Battle of the Bands when one of the bands pulled out at the last minute and we saved the show. I think he knew that the talent pool for Open Mic was a bit thin this year, so to have us finish the show was a coup. I just hoped that we could pull it off having not performed together for so long.

When Jasper and Emmett joined me on stage, I made a quick search to see if I could see where the girls were sitting, but the lights shining on the stage prevented me from seeing more than a few rows out into the crowd. Emmett sat down at the drums and said something about it being a long time since he'd had to stare at my ass, and that seemed to alleviate any tension there might have been.

I was surprised by how easily we fell into our groove again. The song was familiar to us, and it was as if we had never been away from each other musically. I sometimes wondered if we could have made a career out of music as a band, but we were all determined to go to college so we could get 'real jobs' to fall back on if the band didn't work out. School eventually took over and became a priority. Jasper became a lawyer, Emmett got his MBA and started buying businesses, and I went into teaching. I was the only one who stayed close to music. Our bassist, Mike Newton was on a football scholarship so that took over all of his time. He eventually became a high school football coach. We had not seen him since college, but Jazz, Emmett, and I jammed every now and then.

The time on stage with Jasper and Emmett was amazing. It was as if we had never been away from it. I had forgotten what a rush it was to perform to an audience of that size, and it was made better by having my brother and my best friend there with me. Jasper played the guitar solo perfectly, and he still had a voice to rival mine. Emmett pounded out the beat like he was a true rock star. I was surprised that there seemed to be some people who remembered Dawn Eclipse, although we were quite the local celebrities in our day.

The second we finished the last song, I knew that 'someday' had come. I was singing the words and all I could think was that I wanted to make it right, and I had to do it then. I originally thought that my proposal to Bella would be a very private moment; whether it was at the park during the fireworks or a more elaborate, extremely well planned affair at home, it would just be her and me.

Bella was inherently shy and any public attention focused on her would be unwelcome, and could possibly have a detrimental affect on the outcome I was looking for. So, I asked her without saying the words. The crowd could draw their own conclusions regarding my awkward little speech at the end of our performance. The important thing was that I knew Bella would understand. My only hope was that the message came across as sincerely as I meant it without her being right in front of me.

I am sure that if I had gone with a set plan, my nerves would have taken over, and I would have fumbled through it awkwardly. I was realizing quickly, that doing things off-the-cuff had benefits at times. I was not nervous at all. I just said what I had to say and tried once again to search for her in the crowd, but those damn lights just made it impossible.

Of course, the audience did not know what happened and it made it a bit awkward getting off the stage. That is when the reality of what I had done set in. Would Bella be mad at me for doing it like that? Would she still be waiting for me when I got back up to where we were sitting? Was it too soon? Had I totally misinterpreted what today had meant to both of us? My hair took the brunt of my anxiety as I pulled my fingers through it repeatedly. The lack of nervousness I felt when saying the words was quickly overridden by a completely new level of anxiety over whether working without a plan was a huge mistake.

I tried to bolt as soon as we were done, but Garrett said it was likely that either the band or I would win so we should stick around to find out. All I wanted to do was to get to Bella, but Jasper was the voice of reason.

"Edward, relax man," he said calmly as I paced around back stage listening to the different levels of applause as the contestants were announced and the crowd's reaction was measured.

"Relax?" I asked incredulously. "You do realize I just asked Bella to marry me, right? Except, I didn't say the words." I walked in circles willing the results process for the competition to be over. "Fuck!"

"Ed, why is this a big deal?" Emmett asked. I looked at him as if he was from another planet.

"Seriously, Emmett? You're asking why this is a big deal?"

"Well, yeah, I mean it's not like she's gonna say no. You guys have been together forever, and it's obvious she loves you and you love her."

"Emmett, that's the whole point, she might say no. We have spent pretty much this whole day talking about talking and using our words and communicating to avoid misunderstandings like the clusterfuck that has been my life for the past two months. After all that, I go and do this. Saying _that _of all things, without saying it at all. She's either going to run into my arms and profess her undying love for me, or, more likely, she's going to be gone by the time I get back to her. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck." I had worked myself into such a state by the time I finished my rant, I felt like I might pass out from hyperventilating.

Garrett appeared and must have thought I was stressing over the results of the competition. At that moment, I really didn't give a fuck if Sony Records had wanted to sign us to a major record deal. I just wanted to get to Bella.

"Edward, you can relax now. You won. Here's your prize" He handed me an envelope with four season passes to the park for next year, shook my hand, and was gone again. That broke the tension somewhat as we all started laughing, but I was still on the verge of a complete breakdown.

Jasper placed his hand on my shoulder and an instant wave of calm came over me.

"Edward, I know I told you this morning that I didn't think it was the best idea for you to ask Bella to marry you today after what you've been through." His voice was low, quiet, and incredibly soothing. Emmett stepped in closer so he could hear, placing his arms around Jasper's shoulders and mine. It appeared as if we were in a football huddle. "But I have to say, there's something different about you guys today. It's like there's a glowing light around the two of you. It hasn't been like that for a long time."

"Ah, fuck. You're not gonna start talking about auras and shit again are you, Jazz? I thought you gave up on all that yoga, mantra, tantric bullshit." Jasper and I rolled our eyes at each other then he directed his glare to Emmett.

"No, Emmett. I didn't give any of it up. This has nothing to do with auras. I just think they have found something that they lost. And by the way, I do the 'yoga, mantra, tantric bullshit' because my job is stressful and I need a means of relaxation and release." He sounded indignant at Emmett's accusations, but my brother being who he is just could not pass up one more opportunity to tease Jasper.

"Um…isn't that counter-productive? I thought the whole tantric thing was about withholding release…like Sting having days-long sex. Seems to me it's the total opposite of getting a release." Emmett chuckled and I couldn't help join him half-heartedly as my brain continued to churn with all the disastrous possibilities that could be awaiting me.

Jasper huffed. "Emmett, tantra is not only about sex, it's about…"

"Could we have this discussion another time?" I interjected. "I'd really like to go find out if I'm engaged or single."

We left the stage and began to make our way through the exiting crowd back to where the girls were sitting. Jasper kept his hand on my shoulder the whole time, and I became calmer with every step we took. He kept whispering in my ear about all the progress Bella and I had made today and how I could still ask her to marry me properly. I did not quite believe in all the stuff Jazz did, but there was definitely some kind of energy passing from him to me.

As we approached where the girls were supposed to be, I began to panic. I could see Alice and Rosalie in a deep discussion, but I could not see Bella. Once again, Jasper's calming influence came over me as he pointed further along the hill. Bella was doing her own walk in circles just like I had done and she appeared to be having a very animated conversation with herself.

I took it as a good sign that she was still here and grabbed my knapsack from the pile of our belongings by Alice and Rosalie. I hoped I would need what was tucked safely in a side pocket.

"You know crazy people talk to themselves," I purred in her ear as I came up behind her and grabbed her waist. Bella jumped, but she seemed to calm quickly when she realized it was me. My heart was pounding furiously in my chest and I felt anything but calm.

"You surprised me," she said. I knew she wasn't talking about me making her jump.

She turned in my arms and I could see a sparkle in her eye and a hint of a smile play across her lips.

I laughed. "I know. I surprised myself." A comfortable silence surrounded us before I continued. "Just so you know, there was a plan." She laughed. She knew there had to be a plan of some sort. "I had the perfect proposal in mind, and it was going to take place here. I'd been planning it since last year; the mountain, fireworks…the whole deal."

"So why did you…I mean…at the beach you said…" I could almost see the scene from that night replaying for her. My words now were a definite contradiction to what they were then.

"Shh. I know. But, you know what I'm like when my plans are interfered with." We both laughed and she nodded. I did not want to replay this again. I hoped we had moved past it.

"Depending on how today went, I was going to follow through with that plan. The Open Mic thing came up, and I was going to 'woo' you some more." I stroked her sides gently, trying to transfer some of the calm Jasper had given me to her.

"I have learned today, that things change, circumstances change, and therefore, plans must change too. I'm learning to be spontaneous. That's a good thing, right?" I smiled and she bit her lip. She was so damn sexy when she did that. I had to pause for a moment to collect my thoughts and make sure I didn't screw this up. I had to use my words. No implied meanings or any possibility for misunderstanding could occur.

"Bella, there was never a time in the last ten years where I didn't see a future with you. I was ALWAYS going to do this. I guess I just got in the way of myself in trying to make it everything I planned. Today has been one of the best days I can ever remember having with you. It's right up there with that first time here, when you wouldn't let me say 'I love you'. I have loved you since I was fifteen years old and I don't see that changing any time soon. I want nothing more than for you to be my wife and my partner forever." I stepped back and pulled my knapsack from my shoulder. I fumbled in the side pocket for the small box and threw the bag on the ground when I had the box in my hand. Slowly, I knelt down on one knee in front of her. "So, Bella, will you? Will you marry me?" I presented the box to her open in the palm of my hand. I could not wait to see it on her finger. I'd had it for so long, but the moment I bought it, I knew that the solitaire cushion cut diamond set with a platinum and diamond band would look exquisite on her delicate hand. Of course, part of the reason I had waited so long to propose, was that I refused to do it with a ring that was not completely paid for. I made the last payment the week before the beach debacle.

It seemed an eternity passed before Bella gave me any kind of acknowledgement. She finally started nodding her head and eventually I heard a barely audible, "Yes".

Alice nearly blew my eardrums out as she squealed when I took the ring out of the box and slid it on Bella's ring finger. My heart rate finally slowed as I brought her hand to my lips and kissed the ring I had just placed there.

Slowly she withdrew her hand from mine and laid it on the side of my cheek. I was fighting to hold back my tears. Even though they were tears of joy, I still didn't like Bella seeing my cry, and I tried to pull away. Bella wouldn't let me and instead placed both her hands on my cheeks and wiped my tears with her thumbs. She was crying too, and for the first time ever, I think, we stood and watched each other cry.

"Don't try to hide anymore, Edward. I love you." She whispered through her tears, before pulling me down to her giving me the softest, sweetest kiss that held more promise than any kiss we had ever shared.

* * *

**End Note: Many thanks to super beta and my cyber bestie Suzie55. I love her. That is all.**

**Thanks sscana for the preread and sorry I made you cry again…hehe.**

**For Your Amusement has been nominated for a Hidden Gem Award as part of the Twinklings First Annual Walk of Fame Awards. You can see all the nominees here:**

**http(:)/twinklingswfa(dot)blogspot(dot)com(/)p(/)story-nominees(.)html**

**Nominations continue until the end of November and voting starts on December 1. Fill out a nomination form here:**

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**Come play with me and Vegward on Twitter... Cilla_1970 and Vegward. He may be engaged, but he's a merciless flirt.**

**Much love**

**Cilla**


	12. 12 Come To My Window

**A/N: She does, I don't, just playing…moving on.**

**Many of you expressed how much you liked Edward's perspective more than Bella's and I have to agree. I like getting in his head more than Bella's. There will still be some chapters in Bella's perspective, but I think we'll stick with Veggie for the time being. More at the bottom…enjoy!**

**Chapter 12**

* * *

**Come To My Window**

**~Edward~**

The kiss that Bella and I shared after I put the ring on her finger was hands down the best kiss we had ever shared. It was sweet, chaste and soft, but contained more passion than any kiss we'd had previously. It lasted only seconds, but clearly too long for Alice.

"Edward, quit hogging her and let me see the rock," she protested impatiently.

We reluctantly separated, laughing and exchanging eye rolls as Bella went to Alice and Rosalie to show off the ring and receive warm hugs from both of them. Jasper and Emmett both shook my hand and gave me hearty pats on the back. We switched so Bella could receive a hug from Jasper, and Emmett picked her up and spun her around. I received my congratulations from Alice and even Rosalie gave me a genuine smile and hug.

"Phew, I'm so glad that's over with. It's been killing me," Jasper said with relief.

"Wait a minute! You knew about this?" Alice exclaimed.

"Well, yeah, kinda." Jasper admitted sheepishly.

"I can't believe you didn't tell me!"

"Alice, I wasn't sure Edward would do it, and it really wasn't for me to tell. Besides, could you really have kept if from Bella if you'd known? Wasn't it better this way? Everyone was surprised, including Edward." He laughed.

"I guess you're right, but I hate not knowing. I didn't even see it coming, which is kind of weird." She contemplated her apparently defective superpowers for a moment and then seemed to decide a change of subject was in order. "Anyway, it's getting dark and we've got about an hour before the fireworks start, so where do we want to go now?"

As much fun as the day had been, all I really wanted to do at that moment was get in the car and go home. I had some serious plans for my fiancée back in OUR bed in OUR house. Apparently, I wasn't the only one who'd had enough.

"I think we should go get our pictures from this morning. Could we maybe skip the fireworks and go find somewhere to eat? I don't want to be a party pooper, but I really am beat, and I'd really like to have some food that doesn't cost three times what it's supposed to and has to be eaten with plastic utensils." Poor Rosalie. I didn't blame her for being cranky and she really hadn't complained all day. She couldn't go on many of the rides, but she was surprisingly good-humored for the most part.

I was all for Rosalie's request and nodded in agreement. I didn't need to stay to see the fireworks. I had already proposed to Bella and she had accepted, so no epic fireworks display was necessary for me any more. If leaving and going to eat got me home with Bella sooner, I was all for it. Thankfully, everyone else agreed as well, so I was spared voicing my opinion. I knew my motives would be completely transparent and I didn't need to take a ribbing from my brother over it.

We wandered slowly back to the main entrance where we were to pick up the pictures. Each of the three couples walked arms around the other, in our own little worlds. Dusk was upon us and the lights in the park that graced the rides and lit up the mountain gave it a different atmosphere. It had more of a party feel as fewer young children remained around, but we were all so tired and mellow that the lights and music from the rides had no draw for us anymore.

Once we reached the photo booth and Alice handed over the ticket to claim our photos, we stood around looking at the proofs. As usual, Alice had been incredibly insightful in setting up the poses in the morning and the effect was stunning. The way Bella's arms and mine were crossed over her chest with our fingers intertwined looked incredibly intimate, and we agreed quickly that we had to have a framed picture and a keychain each. As with everything in the park, the price was outrageous, but we all quickly paid for our souvenirs and made our way out to the parking lot.

When we got to the Hummer, it was apparent that the ride home would not be nearly as awkward as the ride in. Seating was still a problem, but this time it was easily solved by Alice sitting on Jasper's lap and this time, Bella sat on mine resting her back against the back door. Although it was mid June, there was still a bit of a chill in the air once the sun began to fade. Bella's tank top made it quite apparent that she was feeling a little cold so I grabbed a blanket from the back and draped it over the both of us.

Jasper raised an eyebrow at me and Alice giggled quietly, but I just shrugged them off as Bella snuggled into me. Ok, so maybe I had ulterior motives for covering us up, and they both knew it. But what could we really do in the back of a Hummer with four other people in the car with us? Not what I really wanted to, that's for sure, but I could run my hand along her thigh or up under her tank top to brush my thumb over her nipples. I drew lazy circles on her stomach and kissed her forehead occasionally.

Bella lay against me with her eyes closed, but I knew she wasn't asleep. I knew because occasionally she would shift in my lap so I wasn't poking her with the erection I had, and as she shifted, I could feel her tense her thighs and rub them together slightly.

"Soon, sweetheart," I whispered to her quietly, and she found my right nipple and grazed her thumb over it. That simple action sent my body to a new level of arousal that I had not felt for quite some time. Suddenly, soon couldn't come soon enough.

We had only been on the road for about forty five minutes when Emmett pulled into a gas station that had a family diner attached to it.

"You guys go on in and get a table while I fill this thirsty beast," he bellowed as he pulled up to a pump and got out of the truck. My brother didn't have an indoor voice.

Bella stirred on my lap and sat up to look straight into my eyes. She stroked my cheek then attacked my mouth with hers. I readily accepted her tongue, and would have quite happily stayed there and made out with her while the others went to eat, but Alice was not having that.

"Ok, lovebirds. There's plenty of time to play tonsil hockey later. Let's eat."

I opened the door and Bella swung around on my lap to hop out. I got out right behind her and walked with her immediately in front of me to at least cover my situation until we were seated. There was no hope of it going away as he (no, I don't have a nickname for him) was on full alert for the activities to come later in the evening. If my brain couldn't stop thinking about it, my body sure as hell couldn't stop reacting to those thoughts.

We got inside the restaurant and found a large booth for six. Emmett joined us soon after and we ordered drinks and our food. Soon after that, Bella excused herself to the bathroom. It took everything I had in me not to follow her right away, but after she had been gone for a while, I excused myself to go see if she was all right.

"Make sure you use the hand sanitizer when you're done," Emmett yelled across the restaurant, earning laughs from everyone and a slap across his head from Rose.

At the back of the restaurant, there were three individual bathrooms each with a single toilet and sink and a full door and lock. Two of them were empty so I assumed Bella was in the third and knocked lightly.

"Bella? Are you, ok?" I asked quietly.

I heard the lock turn, the door opened and suddenly I was grabbed by my tank top and pulled forcefully into the bathroom.

"What the fuck took you so long?" she asked, quickly closing the door and locking it again.

"I didn't know you were waiting for me."

Bella pulled us to the wall so she was leaning against it and ran her hands up under my tank top.

"How could you not know? Do you have any idea how badly I want you right now?" I laughed which was probably the wrong thing to do as Bella quickly folded her arms and began to pout like a recalcitrant child, which only made me laugh harder. It wasn't that I found the situation particularly funny, it was more of an ironic laugh because she was putting into action what I had been thinking, but was reluctant to follow through. I really wanted to get her to a bed and make love to her slowly, appreciating every inch of her body. My plan had been foiled once already by Bella, and it looked like it was going down for the count again. I couldn't deny her and I actually didn't want to really. Spontaneity was working well for us so far today.

I stopped laughing, placed my left hand on the wall above her head, and leaned over her, so she could feel my breath on her face. With the other hand, I pried her arms away from her chest and then went back to trace the inside of her neckline with my index finger ghosting over the swell of her breasts, while counting the rhinestones with my thumb. I knew she wore that top because I always counted the rhinestones as an excuse to feel her up. Bella sighed and giggled softly, confirming I'd done exactly what she expected. Once I was done counting, I pressed myself fully into her so she could feel my next words to her. I kissed her neck and breathed in her ear as I spoke softly to her.

"I want you as badly as you want me, but this isn't going to last long if we do it here and now."

I watched her flush as her chest heaved up and down.

"We can do the slow burn later. Right now, I need you or I'm going to explode," she panted.

The next few moments flew by in a blur of shirts going up and shorts and skirts coming down. Our mouths attacked each other as our tongues made sword play with one another. I grasped both her breasts with my hands and squeezed hard as I pulled at the nipples with my thumbs and forefingers. Bella's hands found my balls and squeezed gently before running her fingers up the length of my cock in a loose grip. I hissed at the sensation, and a smile played on my lips as I felt her ring, cool against my hot skin. She moved her hands to grab my buttocks and I could feel her nails dig in to my ass cheeks as she pulled me to her. I growled with the pain and moved my hands to grab her spectacular ass and lift her up. Her hands came immediately to my face as she continued assaulting my mouth with her tongue while her legs came up to wrap tightly around my waist.

I used the wall as extra support so I could use one hand to guide my now painfully throbbing cock to wear it needed to be.

"Fuck, baby. You are so wet," I half groaned, half panted as I slid into her.

"Oh shit, that feels good," she moaned as I began a steady rhythm of thrusts into her. "Harder, Edward, please." I knew it wasn't going to last long before we started, but those words, the way she was moaning and moving over me, and the angles I was getting on my thrusts, we would be lucky if it lasted a minute.

"Hold on tight, sweetheart, this is gonna be a bumpy ride,"

Bella was beginning to clench around me so I knew she was close, and I was not going to finish this without her. I steadied my stance and firmed my grip on her hips as I thrust as hard as I ever had from all angles and within seconds I was swallowing the sounds of Bella's orgasm with my mouth. My own release followed almost immediately and I tried to keep the growl that escaped me to minimum volume.

We stood there wrapped in each other for a few moments before we decided we should really go back to the table and face the wrath and ribbing of our friends.

"I love you," I said simply, as I kissed her quickly while we were redressing.

"I love you, too," she replied, trying to fix her hair.

"Ready to face them?" I asked.

"Yep. They may not even notice how long we've been gone."

I raised my eyebrow at her. "Have they ever NOT noticed when we've done this? Have we ever NOT noticed when Jazz and Alice disappear?"

Bella let out a heavy sigh as she unlocked the door. We walked back to the table together hand in hand, heads held high. _Bring it on, _I thought to myself. You guys didn't just have the hottest quickie ever in the bathroom.

We arrived at the table just as our food arrived and sat down opposite each other at the end of the booth. As soon as we did, Emmett tossed a twenty-dollar bill across the table at Jasper muttering to himself. Rose and Alice were trying to hide the fact that they were giggling.

"What's the twenty for?" I asked, truthfully already knowing the answer.

"I lost a bet to, Jazz," Emmett sulked.

"And the bet was…?"

"Emmett found his sensitive, romantic side all of a sudden. I bet him twenty bucks you guys would be back before the food came because you were all about 'gittin' 'er done'" Jasper said in his best southern drawl.

"Ok, thanks, Larry the Cable Guy," Emmett sneered. "I thought you guys wouldn't be back for the meal and we'd meet you back at the truck because you'd be all about the lovin'."

Bella smirked, but tried to act as if she was upset. "Well, thanks so much for using my sex life for your amusement," she huffed.

"Oh, believe me, it's _very _entertaining, especially when the ride is so _bumpy_," Rose added nonchalantly and casually sipped at her water. Everyone burst out laughing as Bella turned thirty-seven shades of red and my jaw dropped to the floor.

"What?" she asked innocently. "I'm pregnant! I had to pee. I can't help it if the walls are thin, and you can't keep it in your pants until you get home. What the fuck is with you two anyway? My 'don't fuck in public' speech I gave you years ago never did register with you, huh?"

"Get back to me six weeks after that baby's born, and you've been given the all clear, and it's a REALLY long way home from the doctor's office," Bella teased.

"Hell yes!" Emmett yelled, which earned another smack across the head as we all laughed again.

"Ok, I have an idea," Alice said, taking the twenty and placing it between Bella's plate and mine. "Your mission, should you choose to accept, is that each of you must eat everything _on your own plate _without swapping foods, or splitting helpings, or picking off the other's plate. If you do, you guys can keep the money, and buy lube or condoms or something."

Bella was already reaching for my plate, and after a momentary flash of panic moved across her face, she withdrew her hand. "Deal. We don't always have to share food, and we could really use the lube later." She deadpanned as I choked on a mouthful of fries.

Emmett guffawed loudly. "Hells Bells, gettin' her freak on. I like it! Never a dull moment, eh, little brother?"

"OK! All talk of sex is officially banned from the table now!" Rose shouted. "Just eat so I can get home and get to bed." One eyebrow is all it took from Rose to silence any comment Emmett wanted to make about their bed.

We finished our meal in relative silence, because honestly, if we couldn't talk about sex, what was there to talk about? Bella and I managed to win the twenty and as we were leaving, I made a big deal about wanting to stop at a pharmacy to pick up some lube. That got _me_ a smack from Rose. Emmett was apparently all out of smart comments or he'd had his quota of smack downs from Rose for one day.

Once we were back in the Hummer, Bella actually did fall asleep on me. Jasper and Alice were also soon out. I rested my head on the back of the seat and let my eyelids fall to half-closed. I heard Emmett talking to Rose, and realized he wasn't the big buffoon all the time. I'd seen glimpses of the sweet guy before, but the scene before me was just…sweet.

Rose had the seat slightly reclined and looked exhausted. Emmett took hold of her left hand and raised it to his lips to kiss it softly. Rose returned the gesture with a lazy smile.

"You doing okay, honey?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, baby, I'm just beat. My back's a bit sore, but otherwise I'm good, and it was a great day. I'm really happy for Edward and B."

I saw Emmett check me in the rearview mirror, but it must have looked like I was asleep.

"Yeah, me too. I was pissed at Bella for the longest time over this, but neither of them was talking about it so I didn't know whose fault it was. They both had their shit to deal with and I'm glad they did. They're so much better together than apart. Hey, I'll run you a bath and give you a back rub when we get home, ok? Can't have my babies hurting," he crooned to her in a soft voice I didn't know he had. I smiled to myself, secretly hoping that Bella and I would be like that after five years of marriage and I drifted off to sleep.

It seemed I had hardly closed my eyes before we were pulling up to Charlie's house. My heart sunk a little at the thought of Bella coming back here, but then I realized that Jazz and Alice's car was here and Bella probably needed to pick some things up before coming home with me.

Charlie's cruiser was in the driveway and I could see the flickering light of the giant TV in the living room coming through the window.

We all piled out of the Hummer and grabbed our stuff. Alice and Jasper quickly hopped in their car and left and it wasn't long before Em and Rosalie were back on their way as well.

Bella and I stood outside the front door for a moment before deciding to brave it and head inside to see Charlie. Despite Jacob's ranting that it would make Charlie happy for him and Bella to be together, I knew that I was on solid ground with him. Or at least, _I was_. I hadn't actually spoken to him since before Bella and I had our fight. I hoped that things hadn't changed, but I suddenly felt like the fifteen-year-old kid meeting him for the first time again.

We entered the house quietly and found Charlie exactly where we expected to, asleep in his chair, with the Mariners game playing to no one. He awoke when the door closed behind me and sat up with a start.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he barked at me.

"Dad, Dad, it's ok," Bella soothed. "Edward and I, we're, well, we're backtogetherandengaged." She rambled the last part so fast, I barely understood and _I_ knew what she was trying to say.

Charlie rose from his chair and put his hands on his hips. He furrowed his brow and pursed his lips under his ample pornstar moustache. For a brief moment, I was actually afraid of him, until his mouth twitched from fighting a smile and I caught the wrinkles at the sides of his eyes showing. I smirked at him and that did it. He broke out into a full-fledged grin and strode towards us.

"Well, it's about damn time you kids got your shit together," he beamed. "Bells, your suitcase is packed on your bed with all the clothes I could find of yours, and there's an overnight bag in the bathroom that's got all your fruity shampoo and stuff in it."

He held each of us under an arm and pulled us to him in one-armed hugs.

"You knew?" Bella asked incredulously

"Well, Edward asked my permission about three months ago now. When you moved back in here, I knew you guys just needed some time. I figured that once you guys were breathing the same oxygen again, it wouldn't take long for you to work things out. Oh, and Alice texted me after Edward proposed, so I knew you wouldn't be spending another night here."

"Goddamm that little pixie. She even burst my engagement bubble with my dad!" Bella pouted.

"She didn't burst anything, Bells. It just gave me a heads up to get you guys on your way back to YOUR house quicker. I'm really thrilled for the both of you. Now go grab your stuff and get the hell out of my house." He chuckled as we bounded up the stairs to grab her bags.

Once in her room, Bella plopped down on the bed beside the suitcase that Charlie had so thoughtfully packed for her. There were still some of her things lying around the room, but the suitcase was overflowing already. It was enough for the moment, and would definitely ensure that she wouldn't be without clothes for a few days. Not that I planned on her wearing much for the next forty-eight hours or so.

"You know, I still dreamt about you," she said wistfully. "Even when I was still pissed as hell at you, you were still in my dreams. I always woke up with the sense that I was being watched."

I shuffled my feet and looked around the room for something to look at beside her face.

"Edward? Why are you doing that thing?"

"What thing?"

"That thing you do when you're trying to avoid telling me something."

"I'm not."

"Yes, you are. Look at me."

So I did and I crumbled.

"Ok, so maybe a couple of times, I might have snuck in the window and watched you sleep for a while," I admitted. "I missed you, and I wanted to see you, but I was too scared to actually see you face to face. I remembered how to get up the tree just like I did when we were kids. It was a lot harder than I remember though, especially getting down."

"Oh my god, so you witnessed my dreams. How many times?" She was smiling so I knew she wasn't mad.

"Umm, I don't know, a dozen or so, I guess. It took everything in me not to just crawl into bed with you and make your dreams real, but it certainly gave me great material to jack off to." I chuckled and she smacked me, Rosalie-style. She stood up from the bed and wrapped her arms around my waist.

"Well, Mr. Cullen, you won't be needing any jacking off material in the foreseeable future," she advised in her most sultry voice, and I was ready to take her right there on her childhood bed with her father, the Chief of Police, downstairs. It wouldn't have been the first time, but my desire to have Bella back in our bed with no witnesses and no time constraints was now foremost in my mind.

"Shall we go home, soon-to-be Mrs. Cullen?"

"Yes, take me _home_."

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**End Note: My thanks as always to Suz and Sarah for sprinkling their fairy dust over this chapter. I love these ladies to death for the feedback they give me. Special thanks to Suz for spending an hour on the phone with me hashing ideas for this story, among other things…hehe. Welcome to Paradise is in my faves…go read it, you'll fall in love with Surferward.**

**Come play with us on Twitter - Cilla_1970 and Vegward**

**For Your Amusement has been nominated for a Hidden Gem Award as part of the Twinklings First Annual Walk of Fame Awards. You can see all the nominees here:**

**http(:)/twinklingswfa(dot)blogspot(dot)com(/)p(/)story-nominees(.)html**

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**Cheers!**

**Cilla**

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	13. 13 Our House

**A/N: I own Vegward and his board shorts. I wish I owned Twilight, but unfortunately Stephenie Meyer does.**

**I think this is the chapter that a lot of you have been waiting for, and it comes with a definite 'Not Safe For Work' rating. I think it may actually only be safe in the confines of your bedroom or where you ladies have ready access to a clean pair of knickers. Anyway, please show me the love by hitting the review button at the bottom when you're done.**

**On we go…**

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**Chapter 13**

**Our House**

**~Bella~**

Charlie had kicked us out of the house and tossed Edward the keys to my car so he could put my bags in the trunk. I held out my hand for Edward to give me the keys to drive. _It was my car after all_. He just shook his head, smirked, and opened the passenger door for me before running around to the driver's side and getting in. My Volvo XC60 was the 'go to' car when we went anywhere together, so I thought he was trying to make his point about us being together again.

I smiled and raised my eyebrow at him as he adjusted the seat and mirrors, silently asking him why it was necessary for him to drive and go through all this fuss. He apparently understood my question.

"Bella, if I don't have something to do with my hands on this drive, Deputy Pete will end up pulling us over for public indecency. My self-control is at absolute zero right now." He sounded breathless and desperate and the sexiest I had ever heard him. He was not the only one having self-control issues at that moment. I leaned over the center console, kissed his cheek, and used my last bit of control to sit back in my seat and not touch him.

"Well, get this baby going and get me home then!" I demanded.

There were two traffic lights between Charlie's house and ours and they were always green. It is less than two miles, and it normally took us no more than three minutes to make the journey. On the rare occasions when it was not raining, we would actually walk if we were visiting Charlie. Tonight, it seemed like everything was conspiring against us and each second was taking a minute. For those of you who are not a math genius that means three minutes seemed like three hours. Both lights were red and the one car in front of us seemed to be having some sort of delayed reaction, not pulling away until several seconds after the lights had changed.

Edward continually curled and uncurled his fingers around the steering wheel and I sat on my hands. We did not say a word, but kept exchanging glances, smiling shyly at each other in anticipation of what would happen when we finally got home.

Seven minutes later, and yes I was counting, we pulled into our driveway. Edward's car was parked to one side as it always was leaving room for mine in the spot closest to the door. Normally, I would have waited for Edward to open my door for me, as he seemed to have some obsessive need to be chivalrous in that regard. However, this night, I was not wasting any time, and I was out of the car and halfway to the door before Edward had closed his door. My bags were abandoned in the car as he raced to join me and fumbled with the keys to open the front door. I stilled his shaking hand with my left hand and the diamond in my ring flashed with a sparkle as the exterior light caught it.

Edward stopped playing with the keys and took my hand kissing it reverently. Slowly, he moved the kisses up my arm until they reached my shoulder, then my neck and finally behind my ear. I was completely lost in the sensations, but remained aware enough that we could not continue this on the doorstep. I removed the keys from his hand and turned to open the door, no less clumsily than Edward had tried just moments before.

We stumbled into the house and Edward kicked the door forcefully closed with his foot, jolting the table by the door and sending a stack of mail to the floor. We both kicked our shoes off at the door, and then Edward grabbed me by the hand and pushed me back against the door attacking my mouth with his. Our hands were a blur of exploration as mine quickly found their way under his tank top and pulled it up and over his head.

Our breathing was heavy and the lust was evident as I continued my exploration. My hands dipped into the waistband of his board shorts at the back and squeezed his ass before moving to the front ready to push them down and free his pulsing erection from its confines.

"Stop," he murmured against my lips.

"Uh uh, there's nothing stopping us now," I breathed between kisses.

Edward stopped kissing me suddenly and pushed me away from him. At first, I was hurt by the rejection, but the look in his eyes told me he wanted to do anything but stop.

"Bella, you have foiled my plans twice today already. I finally have you back in our house, and there is no way that this first time back here is going to happen anywhere but in _our_ bedroom. So please, get your pretty ass up those stairs. NOW!" He growled playfully as he spun me and smacked me gently on the rear urging me up the stairs.

I tripped on the third step, fell forward, and felt Edward's hands grasp my hips firmly and pull me up again before we both burst into fits of laughter and continued our run upstairs.

Once inside our bedroom, I stopped to look around and found nothing had changed except the bed sheets, but my pillow still had the same pillowcase it did when I left. Edward followed immediately and came to rest behind me. He placed his hands on my shoulders, kneading them gently and leaned down to kiss my neck softly.

"Why is my pillow different?" I asked, not sure why I needed to know this at that particular moment.

"I never changed the pillowcase when I did the laundry. It smelled like you."

I smiled. "I had your Mariners hoodie that Charlie gave you. I didn't wash it the whole time I was there because _it _smelled like _you._"

I turned in his arms to face him and placed my hands on his shirtless chest, absent-mindedly smoothing the hairs to lay down in one direction. It seemed a strange juxtaposition that the action of smoothing the hairs on Edward's chest made every hair on my body stand on end. Eau de Edward assaulted my nostrils and I stepped forward to place chaste kisses across his chest from one nipple to the other, stopping each time to flick my tongue over each tiny hardened peak before moving back to the other side again.

"Bellaaa," he huffed and slid his hands to my waist and under my top. I stopped my assault on his nipples long enough for him to pull my tank top over my head. As soon as it was gone, his hands were around my back to unclasp my bra. Then they were up to grasp my neck and cup my chin with his palms before sliding down torturously slowly over my shoulders to peel my bra straps off trailing his fingers lightly down my arms and discarding the offending object. His hot fingers lit my skin on fire and produced a trail of goose bumps as the warmth left only cold behind.

I was now very much appreciating Edward's insistence at taking this slowly. Our moment together in the park, and then in the restaurant bathroom had been filled with raw passion and a hunger to be sated. This time was tender and full of love, even with the undertone of lustful desire that still burned in both of us. The gentility and awe with which he was touching my body was arousing beyond anything I had ever experienced before.

His fingers traced down my sides barely touching the side swell of my breasts, but still caused a moan to escape my lips that I had no control over. Our hands each found the other's lower garments at the same time, and it took very little to have them pushed down and into a pile on the floor.

As we stood naked before each other for the first time, in what seemed like a lifetime, we both took a moment to breathe and take in the other. The butterflies swirled in my stomach as if I were a virgin being seduced for the first time and not knowing what to expect.

The truth was I didn't know what to expect, and yet I did. I knew every muscle on Edward's body, what each one looked like when he moved a certain way, how it felt to have him inside me, making love to me. However, after our day of confessions and Edward's proposal, it felt like we were in a completely different place in our relationship. This was truly the start of forever together, and the unknown had never been so exciting.

"I love you so much," Edward said, placing my face in the cradle of his hands and kissing me softly. Our tongues met again, but this time more softly and politely with no urgency. "Lay down for me."

I lay down across the bed and watched with fire in my eyes mirroring his as he crawled over top of me. Edward kneeled down to the side of my legs and placed his hands on my chest, palming my breasts, and squeezing my nipples. The sensations shot through my body like electricity and manifested as a surge of wetness between my legs.

"God, baby, I can smell you. I can't wait to taste you."

"Please," was the only response I could muster.

Edward leaned down to place his mouth where his hands had been, teasing my nipples with his teeth before placing his mouth fully on and embracing my whole breast. His tongue soothed the soreness created by the graze of his teeth.

His hand palmed my pubic bone, exerting slight pressure as a finger slipped inside me, his mouth continually placing chaste kisses all over my stomach. My fingers ran through the strands of his gorgeous, unruly hair, stroking him gently, urging him down lower.

As I felt his hot breaths pass over my thighs and settle back in front of my aching, dripping sex, my hips raised off the bed to meet his mouth.

"Please, Edward. Don't tease anymore," I whimpered.

"I'm not teasing, baby. I'm admiring, and formulating a plan," he smirked. Damn boy and his plans, but I really could not complain this time. If he was making a plan now, that could only mean all kinds of good for me. His plans always had a practical application that was beyond argument. I could almost feel my ovaries fist pumping my uterus.

"Fuck, you've got a beautiful pussy," he rasped as he scooted over to rest between my legs and tucked his arms underneath my thighs. Edward flattened his tongue, ran it from my entrance, up through my lips, and finished at my swollen clit, circling it with the tip of his tongue before sucking it between his lips. He repeated his actions several times, each time stopping at a different spot to suck and tease, occasionally pushing his tongue deep into me before licking up to my sensitive nub once again.

No coherent words or phrases would come out of my mouth. Instead, all I could manage were _oohs_ and _aahs_ that would have made even Ginger Lynn or Tracy Lords look like amateurs. The occasional "fuck yes" sealed the deal that I could be the next great porn star. I certainly had the noises and the vocabulary for it. Don't judge. We'd had a few porn movie nights over the years, and I learned a thing or two, as did Edward. I know my porn stars.

And then it happened. Edward finished his last lap around my lady bits and this time stopped to flick at my clit with his tongue at vampire speed, before sucking it hard into his mouth. My breath hitched, my stomach tensed, my hips lurched upwards and my body released in the strongest orgasm I had ever had. I could feel my cervix throbbing inside my body, and I could hear Edward slurping at the juices that I was ejecting.

"Holy fucking….ugh. In. Me. Now!" I gasped. Edward was immediately face to face with me, covering my body with his as he pushed into me with ease. He settled for a moment and kissed me deeply. I licked at his lips, enjoying the taste of myself on him.

"God, I've never…it's never…I won't…I can't…fuck." Edward seemed to be having trouble with his vocabulary as well.

I raised my hips to meet his, urging him to move, rotating slightly to change the angle.

"Fuck, baby, stop," he mumbled into my neck. "It's gonna be over before we've begun if you keep doing that. Just give me a second." He took a couple of deep breaths and kissed me again before finally pulling out and sliding back in slowly. I could tell that he was teetering on the verge of losing control with every gentle thrust. I met him eagerly each time with my hips and dug my nails into his back.

Of all the times we had made love, I had never felt that either of us poured as much of ourselves into it as we were doing at that moment. I could feel my own orgasm building exponentially and soon Edward was literally pouring himself into me as I clamped down around him in my second release. His face could have been mistaken for one of pain as he growled and howled through his orgasm. Not that I had any material for comparison, but I was sure Edward's O face was the best of any man…_ever_.

We lay wrapped in each other for a few moments. Edward tried very hard not to crush me, but when his arm began to shake from the effort, he finally pulled out and collapsed to the side of me on his back. I rolled onto my side to rest on my elbow and look at him. I could see his pulse beating wildly in his neck as his breathing finally began to calm.

"That was…actually there are no words," he chuckled. "Well, maybe there are, but my brain seems to be completely unable to find them at the moment." I smiled and kissed his lips three times. "I," kiss. " Love," kiss."You," kiss.

He seemed to be doing alright finding words. I, on the other hand, seemed to have been rendered mute by the experience. All I could do was smile and continue to kiss him. Eventually, he stopped me and rolled to push me on my back while he rested on his elbow.

"Stay there. Be right back," he said quickly and winked at me. He disappeared in to the bathroom and I heard water running. I knew what he was doing. He loved to take care of me, and I loved him for it. He came out of the bathroom holding a wet facecloth, that I knew had been bathed in hot water, and a large fresh towel.

"Up," he said, patting my thigh. I lifted my hips while he placed the towel underneath my butt and thighs.

"I love it when you do this," I cooed.

"Gotta take care of my baby. I'm not done with you yet." My insides melted again. He was just sexy, and sweet, and sexy and …_did I mention sexy?_

He wrung the facecloth out and allowed warm water to drip right over my sex and run down between my lips. The sensation was erotic in itself, but then he took the warm facecloth and placed it open over my entire pubic area. The warmth made me tingle and felt comforting. Eventually, he pushed the top of the cloth down my pubic bone while dragging the bottom up through my folds with his fingers. Carefully, he removed the cloth folded it in half and repeated the motion again. One more pass with the cloth now folded in quarters and he was satisfied, and frankly, so was I.

"You're different," I said as he pulled the towel away, tossed it on the floor, and pulled the covers back on the bed for us to get in.

"Different how?" he asked as we settled into what was always our usual post-sex cuddle position. He lay on his back with his head resting against the headboard. I was neatly tucked under his left arm, laying on his chest listening to his heartbeat.

"I don't know exactly, but I do know it's never been like that before. I mean…god…I don't have words either, but I know that was the best orgasm I have ever had. You should know, you've been there for every one." I laughed and quickly amended with a blush. "Well, almost every one."

I felt Edward's laugh rumble through his chest underneath my ear. "Ditto. I mean all of what you said applies for me too, and you seem different as well. It's like neither of us is holding anything back anymore. I like it. I _really _like it." He pulled me tight with his arm and kissed my forehead while his right hand played with the ring on my left hand that rested on his stomach.

"Bella?" he asked after a moment.

"Mmm?" I answered sleepily.

"What did you dream about while we were apart? I mean I saw you a few times. They looked like some pretty good dreams." He pulled my chin up to look in my eyes and wiggled his eyebrows.

"Hmm..well. I'd say that you are almost as good a lover in real life as you are in my dreams," I teased.

"Is that so? Well, perhaps you'd like to go back to being with Dream Edward instead of the real me if he's so good," he shot back playfully and pushed me away to lay on my side. I grabbed at his arm and pulled it around me so he was spooning me.

"No, I'd say Real Edward has all the moves that make it possible to have Dream Edward. My dream last night was so real, I could have sworn you were there."

"What was different about last night?" he breathed in my ear, pulling me tighter into him

"Last night was just so …I don't know, I can't think and I'm repeating myself." I paused for a moment to figure out how I was going to explain. In my dream, you did that thing where I'm on my stomach and my legs are closed. It was slow and beautiful, just like it was just now. God, if Alice hadn't have shown up this morning, I could have lived in that dream forever if that was all I would have of you ever again." I felt tears prick my eyes as I rolled once again to my back and stared into his beautiful eyes.

"Wow. I, um, I don't know what to say to that, except maybe this." He paused for a moment seemingly processing his words carefully. "I love you with all my heart, and you can have all of me, any way you want me, any time you want me, and anywhere…within reason." He clarified with a laugh as his ever practical side took over.

"I love you, too," I replied, kissing him softly. He returned the kiss more eagerly and soon we were rolling around in our sheets tangling them up as our tongues tangled with each other.

We stop rolling and once more, I found myself laying beneath him, feeling his weight on me and his impressive erection ready and pressing into my stomach. My legs were together and his legs were outside of mine. He looked into my eyes and a cheeky grin formed on his face.

"What?" I asked. "You're up to something."

"Well, you're not on your stomach, but isn't this what you were talking about from your dream last night?" he said, shifting his hips to nudge at my opening once again.

"Why, yes. Yes, it is," I replied in the same playful tone, spreading my legs slightly to allow him in, before closing them again tightly.

"Fuck, I'd forgotten how good this feels. Don't move. Stay just like that." He began a steady rhythm in and out. Just as in my dream, the increased friction built my orgasm quickly, but now in real time, I felt kind of useless just laying there, receiving all the pleasure, and not giving any.

"Oooh….Doesn't it feel like your fucking a dead fish when I don't move?...aaahh" I asked breathlessly, genuinely curious.

Edward chuckled as he continued moving above me and gave an extra deep thrust pressing our hips tightly together. I moaned with satisfaction. He was definitely incredibly hard, and his breathing was getting heavier which meant he was really close to cumming as was I.

"Does that feel like I think I'm fucking a dead fish? This is fucking incredible. I feel like I can feel all of you."

"_Agh_…do that again where you push right on my pubic bone," and he did, "fuck, yes, again, harder Edward, I'm so close."

"_Grrrrr_….fuck, Bella," he growled as both our orgasms overtook us again.

I sighed contentedly as Edward rolled off me to lay on his back and pull me back into the post-sex cuddle we'd just had not, but an hour or so before.

"Is it going to be like that every time now?" I asked smiling widely and kissing his chest.

"Fuck, I hope so. It may severely shorten my lifespan, but I'm ok with that. Right now, I do need some rest though. I need to recuperate and produce some more testosterone. At this moment, I have an incredible urge to call Alice and go shoe shopping."

I giggled and moved up to kiss his lips before settling into the 'crook', _my crook_ again. He reached to turn his bedside light off and pulled me in close.

"Sleep now, baby. I love you," I whispered.

"I love you so much, my Bella," he practically mumbled, already nearly asleep.

I couldn't remember ever being as comfortable as I was at that moment. Sleep claimed me quickly in Edward's arms, in _our _bed, in _our _house.

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**End Note: Suzie55 rocks my world with her mad beta skills and sscana always gives me good honest feedback as my pre-reader. I love both these ladies to bits, not only for their help in FF world, but for their support in RL as well. Don't forget to check out Suzie's story Welcome to Paradise in my faves.**

**Special shout out this week to Bonesybabe, for giving the Alice squeals I wanted to hear when I let her have a sneak peak at this chapter. Check out her story, Master of Darkness. Darkward is all kinds of sexy.**

**For Your Amusement has been nominated for a Hidden Gem Award as part of the Twinklings First Annual Walk of Fame Awards. You can see all the nominees here:**

**http(:)/twinklingswfa(dot)blogspot(dot)com(/)p(/)story-nominees(.)html**

**Nominations continue until the end of November and voting starts on December 1. Fill out a nomination form here:**

**http(:)/www(dot)twinklingswfa(dot)blogspot(dot)com/**

**Thank you again for reading. Please leave me a bit of love. Reviews are better than Vegward's tongue moving at vampire speed. Ok maybe not, but they're a close second.**

**Cilla.**


	14. 14 A New Beginning

**A/N: Do I really have to say it again? You know I don't own it.**

**Thank you so much for all the wonderful reviews after the last chapter. It seems a lot of you were anxiously anticipating the 'deed' taking place in an actual bedroom. Many of you also expressed a concern that this little fic might be wrapping up soon. Well, I have an outline for at least 5 more chapters, which could very easily turn into more. I promise not to run it so long it outstays its welcome. The rides may be over, but the journey isn't.**

**An even longer note awaits you at the bottom, but it's important so please read. Kthx.**

**On we go…**

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**Chapter 14**

**A New Beginning**

**~Edward~**

I lay in bed that Sunday morning, awake far earlier than I should have been. It had been a late night, or very early morning depending on how you looked at it. I lay on my side facing Bella and continually blinked to make sure I was awake and not dreaming. She was back in our bed and the sight had never looked so beautiful to me. She was laying on her back on the right side of the bed, her head turned to face me, and her right arm casually rested above her head. The sheet fell over her torso, barely covering her breasts and threatened to tease me with a nipple if she moved even the slightest.

I leaned up on my elbow and rested my head in my hand. I began doing a mental list in my head of all the things we had to do today. The first thing was to retrieve Bella's bags from the car and perhaps go back to Charlie's to get the rest of her things. Laundry was on the list as well as grocery shopping. I had been living like a bachelor for two months, washing only the things I needed most and eating frozen meals. It wasn't that I couldn't cook, it was just that Bella was so much better at it and without her I had no motivation to do anything more challenging than throwing a plastic tray in the microwave.

Bella stirred in her sleep and the sheet finally dropped exposing one perfectly round breast and very erect nipple. Was she cold or dreaming? The sight was enough for me to abandon my mental checklist and remember that I had a very beautiful, very naked woman in bed with me.

I pulled the sheet down further to expose the other nipple, grazing my thumb over it lightly in the process. It responded instantly and so did I. My right hand found her left breast, squeezing it gently and pinching the nipple lightly. My mouth settled on her other breast, sucking at the nipple then flicking it with my tongue. I moved closer to her to press my hardness into her thigh. It wasn't long before I felt her hand at the back of my head and her fingers begin to run through my hair. My angel was awake.

"Mmmmm, Edward," she moaned.

"Good morning, baby. Sleep well?" I asked between sweeps across her incredibly erect nipple.

"Mmmm, I did, when you finally let me sleep, that is." She giggled groggily. Her voice was low and husky and completely sexy.

I chuckled and traced my hand down her stomach to settle between her legs, cupping her pussy, my middle finger teasing her lips. I reluctantly released her breast from my mouth and moved up to kiss her slowly and chastely on the lips.

"This is only the second time I've woken you up. The other two were all you. Not that I'm complaining, but I definitely see shoe shopping with Alice in my future if I keep losing testosterone at this rate." I pecked at her lips. "I'm sorry, I can't help it. You are irresistible."

"I'm not complaining either, but I don't want us to go back to this 'honeymoon' phase for a week or so and then get sick of the sight of each other and fall back into a rut again," she said seriously, pushing my hair back from my face with her fingers.

"We won't. It's different. I'm different and I think you are too." I picked up her left hand that was resting on her stomach and played with the ring on her finger. "And this right here says we promise not to get sick of each other, ever." I kissed her finger as I had when I placed the ring there. I didn't want us to have any more heavy conversations for a while so I couldn't help but lighten the mood again. "It also means that I get to have my wicked way with you whenever I want."

Bella giggled as I quickly moved over top of her and she spread her legs willingly to cradle me in her hips, shifting minutely so I was perfectly lined up at her entrance. She wrapped her legs around my back and raised her hips, willing me inside her. I pulled back slightly, only barely able to resist her. She frowned and pulled harder with her heels and I resisted again.

"Ahem! Do I have to put a ring on your finger for me to have my wicked way with you too?" she asked playfully.

"No, but I think it's a rule that the he who does the waking gets the control," I smirked.

"Is that so? It almost sounds like some Confucian proverb. You know, like 'he who go to bed with itchy bum, wake up with smelly finger,' or something like that."

I actually snorted as I laughed at her, and that momentary loss of control allowed Bella to force her hips up and fully engulf me.

"Oooh, you play dirty, Miss Swan,"

"Complaining, Mr. Cullen?"

I pushed into her hard, bringing our hips completely flush against one another eliciting a moan that resonated straight to my dick.

"Um, no, I don't think I am," I gasped as we began a slow rhythm together.

"I want to take advantage of this insatiable you," she flirted, rotating her hips to achieve a different angle. "You're stamina is quite impressive. This is like the sixth time in a little over twelve hours. What has gotten into you?"

"Oh, baby, it's not what's gotten into me, but what I've gotten into. Now, shh, I'm concentrating."

She brought my face down to meet hers in a slow, languid kiss. My slow thrusts never wavered through our banter, her eyes focused on mine as she met every one of my thrusts with a rise of her hips

"I didn't know this required concentration." She giggled.

"Don't laugh, it tickles when you laugh, and yes, it takes concentration not to come just at the sight of your naked body."

"Ooh, you know just what to say to a lady," she said sarcastically, "Wait, tickles?"

"Yes, tickles, vibrates, whatever, when you laugh. It's very distracting."

"Distracting how? Like, not gonna come, or gonna lose the stiffy?" she laughed again, harder this time.

"Bellaaaaa, stop it!" I growled, but still laughed as I did. "While this conversation is titillating in itself, I'd rather just make love to you and get my titillation from your body."

"Spoilsport. Fine, I'll just lie here and think of England." I stopped moving and looked at her puzzled.

"Why would you think of England? Shouldn't you be thinking of me?"

"My grandmother, Charlie's mom, was English. She always said it was a woman's wifely duty to please her husband, and if it was more of an obligation than a pleasure, she should just lie back and think of England." We both laughed and I began moving again.

"Hold on. Are you saying this is an obligation and not a pleasure?" I pushed hard, hitting a spot I knew drove her crazy.

"Oooh, fuck, right there," I obliged her request by hitting the same spot again. "Yesss!" I frowned, but then realized she was responding to my movements and not the question. This was the problem with having a conversation while having sex. Regardless of how serious or how inane it was, there was always the risk of misinterpretation somewhere.

"Bella? Obligation or pleasure?" I asked again, hitting that spot one more time as I did.

"Fuck that's good! Uh, pleasure. Definitely pleasure," she answered breathlessly, "but you said you were distracted from the task at hand…"

"Not a task, a pleasure." I smiled and ground our hips together again. As much as I wanted to just bury myself in her and watch her come undone underneath me, I really was enjoying this banter back and forth. It felt natural and fun, and gave me a sense of comfort in our relationship that hadn't been there for some time.

"The pleasure's all mine," she hissed as I hit her G spot again.

The air around us changed again, and we both became focused on the other's pleasure. No more words were spoken as our movements became more rapid and insistent. Bella came hard, squeezing her muscles around me, but I wasn't ready for this to end and fought my impending orgasm. Watching her come was one of my favorite things, and I was able to do it twice more before finally giving in to my own release and collapsing beside her.

"Wow," I said, breathing heavily.

"Uh huh," was all I got out of Bella.

"We really should get up, take a shower, and do something. If I don't get out of bed and away from your naked body, I seriously fear for my health." I rubbed my hands over my face and through my hair letting a huge breath out.

I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood up slowly. I felt a bit like a baby horse taking its first wobbly steps, and my brain was definitely still in a post-coital fog. Bella, on the other hand, seemed to have recovered quickly. She sprang from the bed and ran into the bathroom.

"Last one in's a rotten egg!" she shouted as I heard the water turn on.

I slowly moved to join her, not caring if I was the rotten egg when I heard her cell phone ringing downstairs.

"Bella! Baby, your phone's ringing." I yelled into the bathroom.

"Leave it. I'll pick up the message later. Come on, Rotten Egg; get your sexy butt in here!"

Who was I to argue? There was a wet, naked Bella in my shower, and despite our prolific sexcapades over the last day and night, I wasn't going to say no to more. I walked into the bathroom and admired the silhouette of Bella washing her hair in the shower before pulling back the curtain and stepping in behind her.

"'Bout time," she said as I wrapped my arms around her from behind. I kissed the back of her neck and surreptitiously spun us around until I was under the stream of water and she wasn't.

"Hey! Water hog!"

"I just need to get my hair wet so I can wash it, then it's all yours, baby." I grinned at her.

"I'm done washing anyway. I'm here for your pleasure alone now," she added huskily and began rubbing the bar of soap over my body.

"If you think I can keep my hands off you when you're all wet and soapy, I think you're mistaken," I moved my hand down between her legs. "Did you wash thoroughly here?" I asked, sweeping my fingers between her folds. "Or here?" I added, drawing circles around her clit with my middle finger.

"Ugh, Edward, baby, stop. Little sore." I knew I was getting to her when she couldn't form complete sentences, but I had to respect that her girl bits needed a break. I, on the other hand, was at attention and ready to go again.

Bella placed the soap back on the shelf and ran her hands over my chest. The soap lathered quickly in my chest hair and it wasn't long before her hands moved lower and began sliding smoothly over my dick and balls. Having your balls massaged and your dick stroked by two hands and a lot of soap is a feeling that I can't fully describe. It feels so damn good, that my eyes always end up rolling into the back of my head and I lose all train of rational thought and awareness.

That's exactly what happened this time, and before I knew it I was rock hard. I felt Bella reach over me to grab the removable shower head and rinse me off, and the next thing I knew the shower head was back in it's cradle, her hands were back on me, and so was…her mouth?

"Jesus, fuck!" I gasped. I guess I was a little sensitive too. Her hot mouth on my dick, felt like a million pinpricks, but in the best possible way. She lapped at my balls, and ran her lips up and down my shaft like a harmonica, stopping occasionally to take me completely in her mouth and swirl her tongue around the head. I had come so much, I wasn't sure there was anything left in me, or if Bella would have the stamina to see this through to a happy ending.

But the little minx had a trick in her arsenal that she had used only on rare occasions such as this one when things needed to be accelerated, so to speak. She removed her mouth, and pumped me hard a few times with her hand, making sure to keep all fingers firmly grasped and sweep her thumb over the tip. She then took me fully into her mouth as far as she could and began massaging my balls with one of her hands. I was getting closer, but it was still going to be awhile. I ran my hands through her hair, trying to show her my appreciation for this blowjob to end all blowjobs because my brain had long ago ceased communicating with my mouth to form any coherent speech.

"Bel…fu…unf…gah," was about all I could manage as she hummed around me.

Then she did it. Her other hand came up under the back of my balls and her fingers exerted a gentle pressure on my perineum as her mouth began to move on me faster. Mere seconds after that, I was coming in her mouth just as hard as ever. Bella wiped the sides of her mouth with her thumb and forefinger with a very satisfied smile on her face.

"Red," I said while steadying myself with my hand against the tile wall and trying to catch my breath.

"Huh?" she asked, standing up to kiss me on the lips.

"Red…I'm…thinking red…five inches high," I mumbled.

"Edward, your mumbling…what are you trying to say?"

"The shoes I'm going to buy with Alice. Red, five inch heel, peep toe," I finally said as my brain came back online. Bella smacked me playfully and reached to turn the rapidly cooling water off.

"You are such a goof, but fine. I call a moratorium on orgasms for you until you belch or fart, scratch your ass, and demand to watch a football game with your hand stuffed down your sweat pants," she laughed. "Now get out of the shower and get dressed, we have work to do today."

Bella seemed to be out of the shower, dressed and downstairs before I had even managed to find a clean pair of boxers to put on. I literally felt like I was functioning on half a brain, but with the best feeling imaginable running through the rest of my body.

When I finally made it downstairs, Bella was listening to the message on her phone. She smiled at me and held up a finger as a gesture for me to wait. When she flipped her phone shut, she breezed past me quickly and out to the hall where the mail still lay scattered from our enthusiastic entrance the night before.

She picked up all the envelopes and flipped through them quickly, finally settling on one I recognized as having the seal of the Department of Natural Resources where Bella worked. She opened it quickly and began scanning the letter like a speed-reader, then dropped it to her side and mouthed 'wow'.

"Baby, what is it? Is everything ok?" I asked.

"Everything's fine…just…the mail. I guess I should have been round more to pick it up." She seemed to be in a little bit of shock. I reached for the letter in her hand and she let me take it with no resistance.

"Who was the message from?" I asked before starting to read the letter.

"Um, it was Banner, my boss from the Department of Natural Resources. He said they need an answer to the offer that was mailed to me two weeks ago by Monday…as in tomorrow. Read it."

I read through the letter carefully and when I was finished I stepped closer to her and pulled her into a warm hug.

"You're amazing and you deserve this opportunity. Take it. It's only two months and I can come with you."

The DNR was offering just three of the PhD candidates working for them an opportunity to work in cooperation with the University of Edinburgh in Scotland on a research project for the mating habits of the pine marten. Apparently, this creature was rare and warranted further study. The IUCN had taken an interest in this animal and thought a change in status on the extinction list was in order. Fascinating stuff, I know, but it was important to Bella and this was an outstanding opportunity. On many occasions, when I should have been paying more attention, I had heard Bella speak of how respected the Department of Natural Resources in Washington State was, but couldn't for the life of me tell you why that was so.

"Edward, what about Alice and Jasper's wedding? Or Rose and Emmett and the baby? And if I take it, I leave in two weeks. That's not a lot of time to plan for being gone for two months." She seemed to be trying to talk herself out of it, and I was not going to let her pass up this once in a lifetime opportunity.

I released her from my arms and stood her in front of me holding her upper arms gently.

"Bella, honey, listen to me. I am a teacher. I have nothing to do for the next two months. I will come with you. The wedding isn't until the end of September and the baby isn't due until early November. They can all manage without us for a little while. Don't you think it would be great for the two of us to get away for a while?"

She nodded slowly and looked like she was about to say something else in protest, but I cut her off.

"As for the planning part…umm…planner extraordinaire at your service," I said pointing to myself.

She laughed and came back into my arms.

"Thank you," she whispered into my chest.

"No need to thank me, baby. Together, remember? A new beginning for us, and this is perfect." I kissed the top of her head and squeezed her tightly. Our moment was broken by the loudest grumble my stomach has ever made.

We both laughed and separated.

"That could have caused me hearing loss," she joked, "I think you're stomach is trying to say your body needs sustenance for all of the increased activity. Let's go make breakfast, then we can work on moving me back in, properly. At least, I left _some_ clothes here." She pointed to the baggy t-shirt and yoga pants she was wearing and took my hand to lead me into the kitchen.

I followed her into the kitchen and waited for the diatribe about my eating habits to start once she opened the refrigerator. _3…2…1._

"Edward! There's NOTHING in the fridge. Oh wait, sorry…there is some sour milk, some ketchup, and six cans of beer. There's not even any mustard or mayonnaise or butter! What have you been eating? And what are we going to have for breakfast?"

She slammed the refrigerator door shut and opened the freezer. I braced myself for round two.

"Waffles and frozen dinners, apparently," she said sarcastically, closing the freezer door and turning to face me with her hands on her hips.

Damn, she was hot when she was pissed. Suddenly, I wasn't so hungry, for food anyway, and a part of my body was becoming hungry for something else…again.

I grabbed her by her hips and spun her to push her against the center island behind the fridge, and leaned down to attach her neck to my mouth.

"Edward, we can't again. You need food. _I_ need food." I continued my assault on her neck and felt her give in as her hands came up to hold my head in place.

"We need to shop, but there's something else I'd like to do first," I growled, switching to the other side of her neck and sliding my hands up under her shirt.

"I…we…mmmm…fuck it," she moaned pushing me back slightly and reaching for the button on my jeans.

We were just starting to undress each other when the chiming of the doorbell sounded.

"Ignore it," I mumbled against her lips and continued pushing her shirt up.

The doorbell sounded again with several chimes this time. We stopped and both let out a heavy sigh. Only one person would be so insistent and obnoxious.

"Alice," we sighed together and pulled away reluctantly.

* * *

**End Note: You may have noticed that for a little while I was posting weekly. Well, RL threw me a not so little curve ball over the last couple of weeks, and I would not have been able to deal with it nearly as well if I didn't have the support of some very special ladies. ****I use real names here, as they are too important to be acknowledged any other way. So, in no particular order, I thank you ladies for your thoughts, prayers and magnificent support. You are what is good about this fandom: Suz, Sarah, Amber, Jess, Kylie, Jenn, Ella, Kym, Tanya, and Mandy (especially in your time of loss as well). If I've forgotten someone, sorry. Everyone has been so wonderful.**

**Thank you with all my heart to my wonderful beta Suzie55. She's so much more than my beta, I don't have words. You should check out her sexy Surferward in Welcome to Paradise. It's in my favorites.**

**Also thanks to sscana for being a great pre-reader and giving me the honest feedback I crave.**

**To all you Dallas fich00rs: 3 weeks ladies! Woohoo!**

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**Cilla**


	15. 15 Aren't Horseshoes Lucky?

**A/N: Still not mine, but they are so much fun to play with.**

**Most of you were excited by the sexy times and more than a little impressed with Edward's stamina (me too actually) Some of you took a guess at who was at the door. Come on, who else would do that to them? Let's find out.**

**More at the bottom.**

**On we go.**

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**Chapter 15**

**Aren't Horseshoes Lucky?**

**~Bella~**

"Alice, it's not even 9 a.m. yet, on a Sunday even. Shouldn't you be tucked up in bed with your fiancé?" I called to her. Edward had reluctantly opened the door to her, and she quickly pecked him on the cheek and breezed past both of us into the kitchen with paper grocery bags in each arm.

"Ok," she said, "let's play a game. You guys have to answer the following three questions completely honestly. I believe once you have done that, my reason for being here will be perfectly clear."

Edward and I exchanged glances and shrugged. It was best to indulge Alice in her games. The quicker they began, the quicker they were over. She clapped her hands excitedly and hopped up on a stool at the kitchen island. Thankfully, Edward and I hadn't gotten around to christening that particular bar stool for it to need sanitizing.

"Ok, question one. Have you, or have you not been boinking like bunnies since you got home?" She said it with a completely straight face, but Edward burst into laughter while I felt my entire face, neck, and chest flush. Alice was not one to use profanity gratuitously, and a thought flashed through my mind that Rose would have just asked if we'd been 'fucking like rabbits'. The random thought made me chuckle to myself and I nodded shyly at Alice.

"Alice, you have quite a way with words," Edward crooned and puffed out his chest like a proud peacock, "and yes, Bella and I have been getting reacquainted in the most intimate of ways…frequently." I could hardly keep a straight face now with how proper he was being. He and Emmett constantly teased Alice about how well bred and appropriate she tried to be sometimes. His elaborate prose was his way of teasing her.

Alice scrunched her nose and mouthed 'ew', before continuing with interrogating us.

"Ok, Edward. If I were to open your refrigerator, would it look like it belonged at a frat house? Does it contain anything of any nutritional value whatsoever? And have you, or have you not been living on frozen dinners and whatever jar you could find in the fridge for the past two months?"

Edward laughed again. Frankly, I was getting bored with this. She'd obviously brought us breakfast and I just wanted to get to it and get eating.

"You're half right," he said still laughing. "It doesn't look like it belongs in a frat house because there are still six beers in there, and that would _never _happen in a frat house. However, it does contain absolutely nothing of nutritional value. Thank you for bringing us breakfast, Alice. Can we eat now?" Yes! Oh, my man knew me. The waves of hunger grouchiness must have been rolling off me.

Alice pouted that her 'surprise' had been outed, but then quickly set to work unpacking the grocery bags she had brought in. There was milk, eggs, bacon, bagels, pastries, hash browns, butter, jam, and even ketchup. It was incredibly difficult to get annoyed with her for interfering when she did stuff like this.

"Alice, you bought enough food to feed an army," I commented.

"No, actually, I just bought enough to feed the six of us, and that includes Emmett, remember," she chuckled as Edward and I stood staring at each other. The look we shared was purely a lament to the loss of our Sunday alone, and the possibility of having sex all over the house, just as we did when we originally moved in.

"That was nice of you to invite everyone to my house for breakfast, Alice," Edward smirked.

"Oh, I know. I figured you guys would need help getting Bella's stuff and whipping this house back in to shape. Edward, you really are a slob without Bella around."

"I was upset and I wasn't motivated to do anything," he grumbled.

"Well, I'm here to motivate you now," I said, sliding my arms around his waist and pecking his lips. Edward wrapped his arms around me and immediately deepened the kiss.

"Mmm, I like the sound of that," he crooned in my ear.

"Ew, ok, stop, please!" Alice exclaimed. "I'm going to call Jazz to let him know breakfast is on. So please, get it on before I get back…oh um…the breakfast, I mean get _the breakfast _on." She rolled her eyes, and left the kitchen as we laughed at her. We continued to stand wrapped in each other's arms.

"Hurricane Alice strikes again," I sighed, separating myself from Edward. I moved around the kitchen getting pots and plates out and arranging the fresh food supplies as I would need them for the monster meal I was about to cook. I started the bacon cooking immediately as I knew it would take the longest and everyone liked it super crispy.

"I dread to think what she'll be like when she plans our wedding. It's been bad enough watching her do her own," I whispered in case Alice could here me.

"Maybe, we should elope and save her the trouble," Edward said simply and seriously. I couldn't tell if he was kidding or not.

"She would kill us if we did that!" I whisper yelled and started cracking eggs in a bowl. "Your mother would kill us, too, you know."

"Yes, but they'd get over it," he said in his deep, quiet voice in my ear. He stood behind me while I cracked the eggs with his hands on my hips, rubbing himself against my ass. I focused my attention on cracking the eggs into the bowl, trying hard not to think about whether Edward was actually serious about eloping.

"Step away from the chef!" Alice yelled as she re-entered the kitchen. Guess I wasn't going to find out anytime soon.

"Just think about it," he whispered and kissed my cheek. My stomach did a flip as a realized he _was_ completely serious.

"Think about what?" Alice asked. Did she have superhuman hearing as well as a freakish knowledge of the future?

I turned to face Edward, asking for help with my eyes to come up with a quick answer.

"Think about whether or not we're going to tell you and the gang our other big news," he said quickly. My eyes just about bugged out of my head until he turned his back to Alice and mouth 'Scotland' to me. I relaxed and nodded my head. Yes, we could tell them about Scotland even though I hadn't technically accepted the offer yet.

"Oh my gosh, you're pregnant!" Alice exclaimed.

"Who's pregnant? Bella? Edward you work fucking fast!" Emmett's voice boomed as he let himself into our house with Rosalie and Jasper following behind. "Fuck it smells good in here," he added. Emmett was easily distracted by food.

"So, who is pregnant, besides me?" asked Rosalie, depositing a gallon jug of orange juice on the counter.

"Argh! No one is pregnant!" I exclaimed. "I got some news this morning that Edward and I will share with you when we sit down for the breakfast that you all kindly invited yourselves over for…AND had me cook it to boot! Now, either get to work whipping eggs, making toast and setting the table, or fuck off out of my kitchen!"

"Holy Fuck, Edward, what did you do to her? Sassy Bella's back. I like it!" I waved the tongs I'd been turning bacon with at Emmett and he scampered out of the kitchen laughing.

Alice set to work preparing the table for six even folding the napkins into some origami creature I couldn't figure out. Rosalie sat at the kitchen island carving the fresh loaf into slices for Texas toast. Edward was busy gathering the plates, cutlery, and serving dishes, we would need.

Jasper came up behind me and placed a hand on my shoulder, and once again, instant calm came over me.

"What can I do to help, B?" he asked gently.

I sighed heavily and turned to him. "Jazz, the best thing you could do right now is go keep your brother-in-law occupied with X-Box or something, because if he comes back in here making cracks about pregnancy or what Edward's 'done' to me, I'm seriously going to lose it." I laughed, but I really was frustrated. This is why getting away really was a good idea. For some reason, our relationship was always under the microscope. We needed this time for just us, even though I would be working.

Jasper squeezed my shoulder and left to find Emmett. Edward came up behind me again and nuzzled my neck.

"You ok, baby?"

"I'm fine. I guess I just wasn't ready to leap right back into us all being in each other's pockets again. I'll be better once we tell them and then we're gone for a while." I turned my head and kissed his cheek. He smiled and winked at me and I returned to making breakfast.

It felt like I'd made enough food to feed an army, but by the time we were all done, there was nothing left. The conversation around the table had been light and jovial during breakfast. We stayed at the table and drank coffee when we were finished eating and a silence fell during a break in conversation.

"So, what's the big news then?" Emmett asked.

Edward placed his hand over mine on the table and squeezed giving me a nod that I should go ahead and tell them.

"Well, I've been offered a two month posting in Scotland to work with the University of Edinburgh studying the Pine Marten. Only three PhD candidates have been offered the position and I can use the research as part of my thesis. We leave in two weeks."

"Wow, Bella, that's awesome. Congratulations!" Jasper enthused. I knew he'd be happy for me.

"You said, 'we'," Alice added.

"Yes, I'm going with her," Edward chimed in.

"That's a great opportunity, B. Way to go." I was not surprised Rosalie didn't have much else to say.

"What the fuck is a Pine Marten?" asked Emmett.

"Really, Em? That's all you got out of what I just said?" I laughed. "A Pine Marten is like a weasel, but it's rare. They live in northern Scotland, but they are migrating further south for some reason and the numbers are going down."

"Huh, cool." I guessed that was his way of congratulating me.

"Will you be back in time for the wedding?" Alice asked.

"Yes. We'll be back at the end of August in time to do all of the pre-wedding parties and stuff in September. Edward has to be back for school too."

"And what are you going to do while Bella's doing her research, Edward?" I wasn't sure why Alice seemed to be having a hard time with our news.

"I'm going to take my guitar, and I'll be looking for a place to rent that has a piano. It's a long shot, I know, but I'd like to do some composing while I'm there. I haven't done that for a long time and a new environment might be quite inspirational," Edward explained.

"Alice, we're only gone for eight weeks. We're coming back. We would never miss the wedding or leave you guys permanently," I assured her.

"I know. It's just that now that you guys are back together, I was thinking we could all start hanging out again like we used to." She seemed sad and I desperately wanted her to be happy for me…for us.

"Oh, honey," I soothed as I walked over to her and stroked her back, "we'll be back before you even know we're gone." I thought for a moment, and realized there was one thing I could do that would bring her completely around.

"Ali, you can plan a Going Away Slash Engagement Party for us the night before we go, if you want." It was Edward's turn to have his eyes bug out of his head. I'd just given Alice free reign over a party that was bound to be way over the top, but I knew it would make her feel better, and if we were even entertaining the notion of eloping, I had to give her something. I tried to communicate to Edward with my eyes as much as possible, and he seemed to understand. He smiled at me and gave acknowledgement with a quick nod.

Suddenly, Alice's mood was bright again and she was jumping up and down doing that annoying clappy hands thing. Can you say bipolar?

"Oh, Bella, I am happy for you and I'll give you the best Going Away Slash Engagement Party ever. It will even outdo the one I had for Jasper and I!" She hugged me tightly, and for a moment, I wondered if she'd played the dejected best friend to get to plan a party. It hurt my brain to think of what she would have had to think of in such a short amount of time in order to pull that off, so I hugged her back and smiled.

With everything apparently settled in regards to the news of our trip, we set to work turning the house back into a home that both Edward and I lived in. The guys took off in Emmett's Hummer to retrieve the last of the stuff that was at Charlie's and the girls and I brought the cases in from the car from the night before and began unpacking.

Rosalie offered to clean the kitchen and go do some more grocery shopping while Alice and I worked on putting my clothes away and gathering laundry together.

It wasn't long before the guys were back with just a couple of boxes of stuff that I'd taken to Charlie's. There were some sentimental knick-knacks, but mostly it was just books and files for my research.

In no time, the house was spotless and smelling fresh, the refrigerator was full of real food, and there was clean linens on the bed that all matched. It was barely lunchtime by the time we were done, which meant Edward and I would have the rest of the day together, I hoped.

It wasn't hard to convince Emmett to take Rose home since she was already on her way to flaking out completely on the couch. Alice pouted a bit as Jasper steered her out the door, but he obviously said something in her ear that made leaving us a lot more appealing. He winked at me and blew a kiss my way then gave Edward a fist bump with a sly smile. I was actually pretty fluent in 'guy' language and I knew that fist bump meant 'yeah, dude, I'm about to get laid too'.

I leaned against the front door as I pushed it shut after our last guest left, rested there for a moment, and sighed. I was exhausted and ready for a nap myself, but the way Edward was stalking toward me told me I wouldn't be sleeping anytime soon.

"Lock the door, and put the chain on," he commanded as he got closer, "I don't want to risk any further interruptions."

I turned to face the door and quickly locked it and slid the chain across. He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me back tightly into his already hardening cock. It was obvious he'd had ample recovery time now, and that only meant good things for me.

"I need you right now," he growled in my ear as he slid his hands inside my yoga pants, grazed his fingers through my already wet folds, then started to push my pants down.

"You don't want to go upstairs?" I panted, grinding my ass against him.

"Fuck, I love your ass. No, last night was for upstairs. Today is for here, the couch, the kitchen, the laundry room, and anywhere else I happen to be when I feel the need to take you." He sucked on my ear as he spoke and my body responded immediately to his touch and his words. He pushed my pants down the rest of the way until they fell to the floor, and I heard him undo his belt and zipper on his jeans.

"Right here?" I said breathily, reaching behind me to palm his balls in my hand.

"Right here," he repeated, sliding his hand between my thighs and spreading my legs a bit more. "God, Bella, you're so fucking wet. Spread your legs a bit more and bend over, I have to be inside you, right now."

His left hand held my hip firmly as I felt him guide his cock down the crack of my ass, over what had always been the no-go zone, but I was rethinking that, and into my waiting, throbbing, soaking wet pussy.

"Ahh, yessss," I hissed as he began his rhythmic thrusts in and out, holding my hip in one hand while moving his other hand between my breasts, massaging and squeezing them. It was only minutes since everyone had left, and yet in that short time, he had turned me into an inferno that craved as much of him as I could get. I needed more as my body screamed for its release. "Harder, Edward, please," I panted.

"You feel so fucking good, baby. I love it when you talk to me." After a few more hard thrusts that practically lifted me off the ground, we were falling over the edge together, completely spent.

We did re-christen several areas of the house over the rest of the afternoon and evening, eventually falling into a deep sleep in each other's arms back in our bedroom.

Monday morning I awoke early and brought Edward coffee in bed before heading off to work, excited to accept the offer to go to Scotland and find out more details. I called Edward as soon as I had the information on exactly where we were going to be and he began research on finding a place for us to stay. There was housing as part of the offer, but it was communal with the others who would be working on the project. I asked Banner if it was all right that Edward came with me and we found our own housing and he was very supportive.

When I got home on Monday night, Edward was practically bouncing with excitement. Give that man something to plan and it was like watching a kid in a candy store. He had found a cottage in a village just outside of Edinburgh that was being rented out for the summer. It was small and old with a thatched roof and by some miracle came fully furnished including a baby grand piano in the parlor.

He had papers laid out all over the floor with different places we could visit while we were there. There was a folder on the couch with more papers in it. I went to look at it to see what other information he had found, but he snatched it up quickly and wouldn't let me peek at it.

I looked at him, puzzled by the secrecy, but all he said was, "I need to do some more research before I show you this."

I had been so worried about having enough time in the two weeks to plan for everything and Edward had taken care of everything in one day. All I had to do was worry about packing our clothes, which was a huge relief. No real thought would be necessary as to what clothes to take as you dress for rain, fog, and dampness the same wherever you are in the world.

I was glad Edward was so good at planning and had it all done because the two weeks flew by and before we knew it, we were on First Beach having a barbecue and campfire for our Going Away Slash Engagement Party. I had initially been a little reluctant to do this again since it was at an almost identical party for Alice and Jasper's engagement that Edward and I had the fight that started our separation.

All my fears were laid to rest, as it was a beautiful afternoon and evening on the beach; one of the few days we get to enjoy in Forks with sunshine and no rain. I was glad that so many of our friends and family had come, including Esme, Carlisle, and Charlie. I was still mulling over the possibility of eloping at some point if the opportunity presented itself, and to have everyone at this casual celebration was perfect. There was no sign of Jake or any of his friends from the Reservation, and even Billy had stayed away. I guessed that was his way of continuing to hold onto the hope that Jake and I would end up together.

Alice had planned a party that was actually what I would have wanted for our wedding. Casual conversation, lots of fun, free-flowing alcohol, good food and no ridiculous monkey suits or flowing gowns in sight. Maybe it was selfish of me to not want to have the wedding I knew everyone (or at least, Alice) wanted for us, but then I thought it would actually be selfish of them to impose their wishes onto one of the most personal events there is.

It was this line of thinking that had me more convinced than ever that Edward and I would marry in a simple ceremony with no fuss, and if that meant eloping to do it, so be it. Edward had been so perfect and understanding, not once pushing me to make a decision, but occasionally throwing out a little benefit that would push me closer to his desired response.

By late evening of the party, I was a little tipsy. I'd had had so much fun. Many people had brought gifts and everyone was full of congratulations for both the job and the engagement. It actually felt Iike we'd gotten married. With that thought in my head, I decided to give Edward my decision.

I spotted him talking with Emmett, Jasper, and a couple of friends of his who were also teachers at the high school. I walked up to them and quickly wound myself around Edward while he wrapped his arm around my shoulder and pulled me in close. He smelled like beer, campfire smoke, and cigars. I just wanted to stay in his arms and sniff him for a while.

"You ok?" he asked, looking down at me and smiling.

"Yeah, I'm great, but can we go for a walk? There's something I want to talk to you about."

"Sure. Are you sure you're all right?"

"Never better. Let's just walk, ok?" I could tell he was a little concerned, so I waited until we were a little way down the beach and then put him out of his misery. "I want to get married," I blurted.

He laughed. "I know. You did say yes."

"No, I mean, I want to elope. I don't need the dress and the flowers and twenty-seven bridesmaids and groomsmen. Our families will hate us, but I don't care. I just want to marry you, and I want it soon." Edward stopped us from walking and turned me to face him.

"Do you have any idea how happy you've made me?" he asked, taking my face in his hands. "I love you so much. I know you don't like the big ceremonies and being the center of attention, but I'll make sure it's perfect for us." He leaned down and kissed me gently on the lips.

"Did you have something in mind already? I know it won't be for a while because of the trip and …" he cut me off with another kiss.

"I do have something in mind. Can you trust me? I don't want to spoil the surprise. I know you don't normally like surprises, but I promise you will love this." I nodded and he kissed me softly one more time, but it soon turned into a long slow battle of tongues that sent shivers through me and brought the familiar ache of want for Edward to my nether regions.

"Think they'll miss us if we sneak further up the beach for a bit?" I asked seductively, making my intention clear.

"I don't care if they do," he replied, wrapping his arm around me and marching me further up the beach. Everyone knew about the spot where a group of rocks formed a horseshoe shape opening out to the ocean that obscured views from up and down the beach as well as from behind on the shore. There were many jokes about how many of the residents of Forks and La Push had been conceived in the seclusion of that horseshoe.

We ran toward it eagerly pulling jackets and shirts off, as we got closer. We rounded the rocks into the shelter of the horseshoe and stopped dead in our tracks not quite believing what we were seeing. Someone had obviously had the same idea as us and two naked bodies were writhing around on a blanket with another twisted around their legs barely covering them.

Our gasps of surprise must have startled the couple and the one on top turned around. If Edward had not been holding onto me, I might have fallen over at the shock of what came next.

"Jake?" I said almost to myself it was so quiet, not believing he was there. He'd always made it seem as though he was remaining celibate and a complete saint until I came to my senses.

"Fuck," Jake said.

"Jake, baby, why'd you stop?" his partner asked, and that's when total shock set in for me. I knew that voice.

"Seth?" I asked incredulously, not believing I'd actually heard a male voice in this current scenario, let alone the voice of his 'other' best friend.

**End Note: **

**Didn't see that coming did you? Or did you? Let me know in a review!**

**Thank you with all my heart to my wonderful beta Suzie55. I love her so much. You should check out her sexy Surferward in Welcome to Paradise. It's in my favorites.**

**Ever listen to a song and have an idea for a story just jump out at you? Well, that happened to me, and after emails, gchat and a two hour phone conversation, Suzie helped me formulate the idea into a real outline and chapter one is done! It won't post until after FYA is done so I'll have lots of time to stock up chapters. If you want to know when it comes out, be sure I'm on Author Alert and not just Story Alert.**

**Thanks also to sscana for giving me her awesome input and making me laugh with her comments.**

**To all you Dallas Slushes: Have you bought a new outfit yet? Have you been raising your alcohol tolerance? Two more weeks! Get in shape!**

**For Your Amusement has been nominated for a Hidden Gem Award as part of the Twinklings First Annual Walk of Fame Awards. You can see all the nominees here:**

**http(:)/twinklingswfa(dot)blogspot(dot)com(/)p(/)story-nominees(.)html**

**Nominations continue until the end of November and voting starts on December 1. Fill out a nomination form here:**

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**Come play with me on Twitter Cilla_1970. Vegward comes out to play very occasionally as well. Follow us both!**

**Reviews really do make me smile, so please hit the button below this long ass note.**

**Thanks**

**Cilla**


	16. 16 Start Talking

**A/N: Every time I say it, it pisses me off more. Stephenie owns it all.**

**So it seems I shocked you all a bit last chapter. Thanks so much for the reviews, it made me smile reading everyone's reactions. I'm fail at review replies, but know I read them all and appreciate every single one.**

**So, what's up with Jake?**

**On we go.**

**

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**Chapter 16**

**Start Talking**

**~Edward~**

Are you fucking kidding me? Not only had Jake cock blocked me, and not for the first time I might add, but he was fucking Seth! Ten years of him claiming to love Bella and trying to push me out of the way and he's fucking gay! This was only a snippet of the tirade that was going on in my head as I felt Bella lean against me for support. I held onto her as best I could as the reality of the situation dawned on us both. First order of business; put our shirts back on. Given the new knowledge I had of Jake, I couldn't be sure if he was eyeing up topless Bella or me. Either scenario made me uncomfortable.

I want to say up front that I am absolutely not homophobic. Whatever floats your boat, have at it. However, discovering that the only rival I ever had for Bella's affection was gay was a little unsettling. The anger that I felt toward Jake had me questioning my liberal views on the matter. Of course, I realized my disgust was with the person and not his sexual orientation per se. What possible explanation could he have for the way he'd behaved over the last decade? Hell, even for the way he behaved at the amusement park two weeks ago. He practically begged Bella to leave me for him.

I felt Bella relax beside me and regain her footing. She let go of me and stood alone, then took a large intake of breath through her nose and blew it out slowly through her mouth. I inwardly smirked, knowing Bella was about to rip Jake a new one, no pun intended…ok, maybe it was. I had to stop myself from snickering out loud.

"Seth, sorry to interrupt," she started in a calm soothing voice. _What? Why is she apologizing? _"Jake, put some fucking clothes on. I want an explanation," she spat at him and indicated that we should turn our back while they got dressed.

Aha! She was not pissed at Seth, but Jake was going to get an earful. This was just another example of Bella's incredible compassion and enviable ability to compartmentalize a situation and direct the correct emotions to the right compartment.

"Bella, I'm sorry," Jake said, indicating it was all right for us to turn around.

I put my hands on my hips and chuckled shaking my head as I looked at the ground.

"You're sorry?" I asked incredulously.

"This is none of your fucking business, Cullen," Jake snapped at me.

I dropped my hands from my hips and took a step towards Jake. Bella made a gesture to push me back with her hand and gave me pleading eyes, so I took a step back again, but I was not going to let this go.

"None of my business? You have tried to break us up since we got together, and even before we got together. You've strutted around professing to be the 'better' fucking man telling anyone who would listen that _you _were meant for Bella. You have basically made my life hell since I was sixteen years old. You made me doubt Bella and her feelings for me, made me not trust her every time she was with you, not to mention almost completely destroyed my relationship with her in the last couple of months. _Now,_ tell me it's not my fucking business. I can't wait to hear you explain this." I spat the words at him like they were venom, and I felt my face burning from the rage I was trying to hold down for no one's sake but Bella's.

Seth stood behind Jake with a look on his face that I knew well. It was the look of sympathy a person has when they see someone they love dealing with something difficult. The look one lover gives to another when their heart breaks a little bit for them and their pain.

Seth placed a reassuring hand on Jake's shoulder. It was a little weird to see these two big guys and the tenderness they obviously shared between them. Jake closed his eyes in acceptance of the touch, but then shrugged it off.

"Don't…," he said quietly.

Seth removed his hand and folded his arms across his chest. He looked hurt by Jakes' rebuff, and I felt another wave of anger roll of Bella.

"No," said Bella sharply, "You _don't_, Jake. Don't dismiss Seth because you're embarrassed by this situation. Don't pretend that he doesn't mean anything to you. Don't pretend that this isn't exactly what I think it is. Don't treat him with the same lack of respect that you have treated Edward and me all these years. I can see he means more to you than that. For once in your life, Jacob Black, speak the truth. It's time for complete honesty."

"Bella, it's ok," Seth said calmly, "thanks, but I understand why he does it. I have to do it, too."

"I think I understand too, Seth," Bella replied softly, "but, that doesn't make it right, and after all this time, I think he needs to do that."

"Would you quit fucking talking about me like I'm not here?" barked Jake.

"Then start talking," Bella shot back.

"Fine. As I started to say before…" he glared at me, I guess because I interrupted him, then looked back to Bella, his expression softening, "…I'm sorry. I'm sorry I forced myself on you. I'm sorry I tried to break you and Edward up. I'm sorry I haven't been honest with you or myself. Do you have any idea what it's like for a gay person on a reservation?"

Bella was impassive, but I shook my head in disgust. This was going to be his out? After everything he's done, he was going to pull the 'it's hard being me' card. _Fuck that! _I hated him as much as ever for what he had put us through, but somewhere deep down, I still really needed to hear him explain himself more.

"Why didn't you guys move away and leave the tribe? You could go somewhere else. You didn't have to stay here and live a lie, and use me on top of it all!" Bella's tone was calm, but harsh, but it also seemed she might burst into tears with her anger.

Jake sighed, and this time when Seth placed a reassuring hand on his arm, Jake covered his with his own and squeezed.

"Being gay in a tribe can mean different things to different people, usually split between the old and the young in their outlook. Maybe it's no different than anywhere else, but it's still shit I have to deal with, and Seth too. The generally held view by the "white man"", he used the air quotes, "that a gay man is less of a man is common among the younger members of the tribe, like Paul, Quil, Sam, and Embry. My…" he turned to Seth and squeezed his hand again "…sorry, _our_ closest friends would hold that view and likely go to the extreme that we couldn't be around the kids anymore because everyone knows all gay men are pedophiles, right?" He laughed, his tone dripping with sarcasm. "But they're our family, I can't leave my dad, and Seth won't leave Sue and Leah on their own."

"I think Charlie may be looking out for Sue," I said without thinking. Sue was Seth's mom and she was at Charlie's house when Emmett, Jasper and I went to get Bella's things. They both looked a little sheepish like they'd been caught with their hands in the cookie jar. All three of them turned to me and raised their eyebrows. "Not now, I'll explain later. Jake, you said there was the other side to this. What do you mean? And I'm still not sure how this all fits in with Bella or being a dick to me."

Jake nodded. "Why don't we sit down? This is could take awhile, but I'll try to shorten it for you." He indicated to the blanket. Bella scrunched her nose, probably thinking of what they'd been doing on the blanket, but we sat down anyway. The hostility that had begun the conversation had now given way to an uneasy calm. I was anxious to hear what Jake had to say, and still royally pissed off, but it seemed Jake was now eager to finally tell his story.

"Have you ever heard the term Two-Spirit?" he asked. We both shook our heads. "In our culture, there is no word for someone who is gay. If you're a guy and do a woman's work easily or vice versa, you're called Two-Spirited. This includes if someone is attracted to the same sex physically because the _other spirit _is guiding you. Two-Spirits are held in high regard by the tribe, especially the elders, as they are seen to have a special gift in being able to house the spirits of both sexes taking them to this higher spiritual level than other members of the tribe. I don't have any special gifts, and I'm sure Seth would tell you he doesn't either, but I'd tell you that sure as hell isn't true." He looked at Seth suggestively and they both chuckled quietly and smiled at each other. The way they were looking at each other made me a bit uncomfortable. Like I said, I'm not homophobic, but I had the distinct feeling in that instant that I was invading a private moment. I got the feeling they each had 'special' gifts that were known only to each other. As I sat listening to Jake, I realized that he was every bit the overgrown, overly muscular dolt I'd always taken him for. Nevertheless, he'd obviously given a lot of consideration to his situation, so much so, that he had over thought it to the detriment of himself, his relationship with Seth, and Bella and I.

Jake continued. "I don't want to be some spiritually enlightened all-seeing, all-knowing prophet the can 'span the realms of men and women', which is what the elders would see, but still not necessarily accept our relationship as an intimate one. I'm me. I'm just a guy who happens to be attracted to other guys…one in particular." He winked at Seth and blew out a heavy breath. "That's the first time I've said that out loud." He paused for a moment and smiled at his own revelation. "It feels kind of good."

"Jake, all you've done is given some textbook mumbo jumbo about your tribe's culture. I don't need a fucking history lesson. I want to know how I fit into this, and why you kept this charade going? What about your sisters? Wouldn't Rachel and Rebecca help with Billy? You could've left." Bella asked.

He shook his head, "They always dreamed of leaving all this behind and did as soon as they could. They have their own lives now and my dad would never leave the Res to live with them." He took another deep breath and continued. "As for you? Since I was fairly young, I knew that I looked at guys differently than I should and I never felt any attraction to girls at all. I _did _feel a real pull towards you though. When I was twelve, you were thirteen, and we kissed, I was already aware that I was different, but I felt _something_ when we kissed. In my brain, if I felt something with you, then you were my salvation to not deal with the feelings I was already having for Seth, even back then. I latched onto you like a dog that wouldn't let go of a bone, because you were my only hope that I was normal. I've continued to hold on to that hope, even though I know it was wrong, and I know I've hurt both of you."

Bella started to reach to place a hand on his leg, seemingly in comfort, but she changed her mind and withdrew it again. I tensed up for a moment at her gesture because I wasn't so ready to forgive, but relaxed when she pulled away. This was all so fucked up. I couldn't get my head around it yet. Still there was one more thing that I had to ask.

"What about Seth? Just two weeks ago, when we saw you at the park, you were still saying that Bella was the one for you. I get the feeling here that you and Seth aren't a new thing, so how do you explain that? Were you thinking of him at all? Were you ever thinking of Bella and what you might have been doing to her, or what would've happened if you were, by some miracle, successful in getting her away from me? What would've happened if you got the girl and then still wanted the guy? Did you think about any of that? It seems to me that you've only been thinking of yourself this entire time." I was still a long way from getting on the 'poor Jake' train.

Jake placed a hand on Seth's knee and this time Seth covered it with his own.

"Seth has been very understanding. He's in the same position as me as far as how the various people in the tribe will react. The difference is, he's not in line to be chief. That puts a whole other level of pressure on me. He's been so patient with me, much more than he should have been. We've been on and off for almost six years. When you guys had the fight and I drove Bella home, I took it as my final opportunity to convince her to be with me, and in turn convince myself that I wasn't gay. And no, I hadn't considered any of those scenarios you mentioned. Seth is the one who first pointed them out to me and we had a huge fight over it, I finally gave in to my feelings, who I am, and the reality I live in. We're solid now. We just have to be careful. The thing at the park was a dickhead move on my part and I'm sorry. I was posturing in front of the guys. You were right, Edward, people are starting to talk and I had to do something to throw them off again. We're not ready to be out yet, and I know I have no right to ask anything of you after what I've put you through, but please don't say anything to anyone."

I huffed and opened my mouth to speak, but Bella put her hand up in front of me to indicate she wanted to speak first. Since she seemed to be softening and accepting his explanation, I expected her to defend Jake as she always did, but she surprised me.

"Jake, I am torn right now between wanting to hug you and wanting to punch you. I'm still sitting here because it's pretty much 50/50. I think you finally realize what a dick you've been, and now I understand where you were coming from. But, understanding and forgiving are two different things, and I'm a long way from forgiving. Just because I'm calm, doesn't mean I'm not angry. I can't process all of this right now and it's probably a good thing Edward and I are going to be away for eight weeks, so we won't be around anyway. Even if we were around, we wouldn't say anything. That is something you need to do yourself, and Jake, I think you should consider sooner rather than later. You've lived too long with this lie and it's not healthy for you or your relationship with Seth. You won't be truly happy until you have complete trust and honesty." She looked at me and smiled and I knew she was talking about us. We finally had complete trust after ten fucking years, and ironically thanks to Jake, we were happier than we'd ever been.

Jake nodded his understanding and we got up to leave. There wasn't much else any of us could say. We were a few yards away when Jake called after us.

"I'm happy for you, Bells. I'd lay bets that you guys will be married or pregnant or both by the time you come back from wherever it is you're going," he called after us. Halle-fucking-lujah. Now there was definitely nothing more to say. The Jake issue was closed.

Bella laughed uncomfortably, but I made no reaction or comment. I knew that he was at least half-right.

We strolled back up the beach and finally made it back to the party, only to be attacked by a stumbling and very drunk Emmett.

"Where the fuck have you guys been?" he slurred.

We looked guiltily at each other and smiled. Even if we hadn't done what we set out to, the intention was there.

"Oh, for fuck's sake. You went to Horseshoe Rock, didn't you?" he bellowed.

"Emmett, will you keep your fucking voice down," I hissed.

"Sorry, bro. But fuck, I'm lucky if Rose has the energy for a half-hearted hand job, never mind anything else. I'm so jealous."

We laughed and he stumbled away to find another beer.

The party had thinned out since we'd been gone. I really wanted to leave and take Bella home, but it felt like we should stay until the last guests left. We didn't have to be up really early in the morning, but we were driving to Seattle in the afternoon ready to catch an early flight the next morning.

A few more people said their goodbyes, giving us congratulations and best wishes, and soon it was us and some of my friends from school, who looked like they had settled in by the fire to drink for a while longer. Rose had finally convinced Emmett that he'd had enough to drink and she was tired. They said their goodbyes soon after Emmett left us pouting about not getting any sex from Rose.

Alice and Jasper had left at some point, but we actually didn't see them leave. They were driving us to the airport so we knew we'd see them tomorrow to say goodbye. Carlisle, Esme and Charlie had left before we went off down the beach. There wasn't anyone else I felt we had to say goodbye to or were obligated to stick around for.

"Ready to go home, baby?" I asked Bella and she nodded sleepily. We loaded up the car with presents that some of the guests had brought with them, waved to the crowd around the fire and were on our way.

Bella and I hadn't had a chance to talk about Jake since we'd left him and Seth. She'd made her feelings pretty clear to Jake, but I wanted to make sure she was all right and wasn't just putting up a front.

She was half-asleep by the time we got home, so I quickly got her out of the car, in the house and up to the bedroom. When I left her and went back out to the car to get the gifts, she was undressing slowly, but by the time I was done and ready to get into bed myself, she was already in bed and out like a light.

I tossed and turned for a while thinking about all that had happened with Jake, and finally settled on my back with my arm resting over my eyes. I felt like I had barely been asleep when I felt something tickling my stomach. In my sleepy haze, I moved my hand to swat whatever it was thinking it was a spider or feather, but met with Bella's small hand lazily drawing circles on me instead. The realization that it was her hand doing that had me hard almost immediately. Every time she went below my belly button, my dick twitched and I heard her giggle. I was trying to pretend to be asleep still, but when her hand grazed the head of my dick now pushing out the top of my boxers, the moan I let out gave me away.

"I know you're awake," she said huskily.

"Mmm, I am now," I moaned groggily, my arm still resting over my eyes. "What are you doing? I thought you were out cold for the night."

"Awww, poor baby was disappointed?" she said as if she were talking to a baby.

I removed my arm from my face, rolled on my side to face her, and feigned a hurt expression on my face that she probably couldn't even see in the dark.

"Yes, as a matter of fact I was _very _disappointed. I was hoping to pick up where we left off on the beach," I emphasized pushing my erection into her thigh, and kissing her softly. I didn't want to dwell on what had interrupted us earlier. "Care to make it up to me, now?" I added, sliding my hand into her little boy short underwear and pulling them off.

"Not wasting any time, are you?" She slid her own hands into my boxers and stroked me a few times before starting to push them down. I lifted my hips to make it easier for her and started to move on top of her. Bella quickly pushed me over onto my back again and straddled me before I knew what had happened.

"Neither are you," I panted. I raised my eyebrow at her and she laughed as she pulled her tank top over her head exposing her breasts. It was an automatic reaction for my hands to reach up and start playing with them.

"The one who does the waking gets control, remember?" she said cheekily, as she easily took me inside her. _Guess my girl was thinking about this for a while_.

She began rotating her hips over me, leaning over me so her breasts were in my face, slowly moving up and down. I grasped her ass cheeks with my hands to help her move and all thoughts of playful banter were gone.

We made love agonizingly slowly. Only the sounds of our gasps and moans filled the air until we whispered how much we loved each other as we came together. It almost made me thankful to Jacob for being a cock-blocking bastard on the beach. _Almost_. I would take this kind of lovemaking over hard and fast where we could get caught any day. I was hoping to do a lot more like this when we were away from everyone and everything in Scotland for two whole months. I was going to romance my girl all over again.

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**End note:**

**This was a tough one and would not be nearly what it is without my amazing friend and beta, Suzie55. She talked me down from the proverbial ledge and fixed all the shit that didn't sound right. **

**Thanks also to Sscana for being an amazing pre-reader and giving me that extra eye to make it that much better. And finally, Bonesybabe for jumping up and down and sending me Jackson pics until I let her pre-read too.**

**The new story is coming some time after FYA ends, maybe a month to six weeks so put me on author alert so you don't miss it.**

**Dallas Slushes: We have entered the final countdown. All suitcases at the ready and livers primed…10 days to go! I may get another update in before we go.**

**For Your Amusement has been nominated for a Hidden Gem Award as part of the Twinklings First Annual Walk of Fame Awards. You can see all the nominees here:**

**http(:)/twinklingswfa(dot)blogspot(dot)com(/)p(/)story-nominees(.)html**

**Nominations continue until the end of November and voting starts on December 1. Fill out a nomination form here:**

**http(:)/www(dot)twinklingswfa(dot)blogspot(dot)com/**

**Come play with me on Twitter Cilla_1970. Vegward comes out to play very occasionally as well. Follow us both!**

**Reviews really do make me smile, so please hit the button below this long ass note.**

**Next chapter we're off to Scotland!**

**Thanks**

**Cilla**


	17. 17 Bonnie Scotland?

**A/N: Still don't own any of it. I do own a mood ring that I bought in Dallas when I got all emo after saying goodbye to my Slushes. Sorry for the delay on this chapter, more at the bottom on why, if you care…on we go!**

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**Chapter 17**

**Bonnie Scotland?**

**~Edward~**

"Ali, please don't cry," Bella begged as we said goodbye to Alice and Jasper at the airport. "We'll be back soon and I'll call all the time."

They had driven us to Seattle the day before and insisted on staying at the hotel with us overnight. It was five a.m. and I was in no mood for a long drawn out goodbye. Jasper and I hugged and patted each other on the back. Jasper pulled Bella from Alice's death grip hug then he passed Alice off to me.

Alice sniffled as we separated and Jasper pulled her into him. "Come on, baby. Let's not waste our day off. We'll go back to the hotel for a while and then go shopping before we head back." Alice perked up at the mention of shopping and they waved goodbye as we entered the terminal.

Our first flight to Newark left just before seven a.m. and we both slept most of the way. We had a brief layover before our flight to Edinburgh left at six p.m. The overnight flight had us arriving at dawn.

The Department of Natural Resources had paid for Bella's coach ticket, but Carlisle and Esme had insisted on upgrading her ticket to First Class as well as purchasing mine. I was grateful for the extra legroom and that there were only two seats per row, nicely oversized and fully reclining. Surprisingly, there were only four other passengers in First Class with us spread throughout the forward cabin, so it almost felt like we were alone.

We watched a movie and enjoyed our unpleasant airline food served on real porcelain, and soon blankets and pillows were handed out, the cabin lights went off, and the flight attendants disappeared to do whatever it is they do when all the passengers are sleeping.

We pushed the arm up between us, laid the seats down fully reclined, and snuggled down under the blankets provided by the flight attendant. I wrapped my arm around Bella to pull her close to me and spoon her in our usual sleeping position. I was in the window seat and Bella on the aisle so we were facing out. I was exhausted and fully expected just to sleep, but it seemed Bella had other ideas. She snuggled back into me and wriggled her ass right on my dick, which made it jump to life immediately.

"Behave," I growled in her ear.

"Uh uh," she replied with a smile on her face, grinding back into me harder. "I know there's no one around us, and this beats making it work in a tiny, cramped bathroom." She giggled and brought my hand around her to rest on her breast.

"Are you saying you want to join the Mile High Club right here?" I whispered in her ear and sucked on it while squeezing her breast. It was so easy for me to get into a groove with her like this. Whatever she wanted, she would get.

"Please," she answered breathily as I massaged her breast and pinched her nipple.

This was going beyond anything we'd ever done at the park and fuck if my girl wasn't the one who asked for it. We had rules at the park to ensure we wouldn't be caught. Our moment on the hill was the most public we'd been and even then it was so secluded that no one could have seen us. The adrenaline rush I was feeling at her request only served to enhance my arousal. Maybe I was actually an exhibitionist, because the thought of making love to her where we could so easily get caught was hot on so many levels, how could I refuse her?

I moved my hand down her body and inside her sweat pants, thankful for the comfortable clothing choice and easy access, and was rewarded with a whimper and a moan from her.

"I love you, dirty girl, but you have to be quiet," I whispered, easing her pants and underwear down just far enough so I would be able to enter her.

Bella nodded and bit her lip then reached behind her to grab hold of my cock and stroke me through my own sweat pants. I shimmied my pants down just far enough to release my aching erection while making sure the blankets were securely in place to cover us.

"Need you," Bella whispered, stroking me harder. I slipped my hand between her legs from behind and ran my thumb slowly through her lips. My breath hitched and my heart began beating faster when I realized how wet she was already.

"Lift your leg for me, baby," I breathed in her ear. Bella complied wordlessly and I slipped inside her easily. We both breathed heavily, stifling our groans that begged to escape.

I began a slow rhythm thrusting my hips forward as Bella met every one pushing back against me. Every now and then, we'd stop moving all together and just appreciate the feel of each other and how we were joined. Despite the public venue, it was one of the most erotic and sensual moments we'd ever shared. The slow pace did nothing to prolong the pleasure though and my climax was building quickly. The sound of my hips sliding against the leather seat made a squeaking sound which sent us both into a fit of giggles.

"Ssshh," I chuckled.

"I know, I know," Bella answered trying to stifle her laughter.

I heard someone ring for the flight attendant, but couldn't be sure where it was coming from. I stopped my movements again and held Bella tight to me, still buried deep inside her. Bella began to move herself on me impatiently, grinding her ass into my hips, pushing me in further. The sensation was phenomenal and I let out a low groan, just as the flight attendant walked by.

"Bella, baby, stop," I hissed.

"So, good," she moaned, her eyes still closed.

"I know, baby, but there's someone moving around. Do you want to get caught?"

Her response was to push back hard and giggle again just as the flight attendant walked by once more.

"Maybe," Bella giggled. The flight attendant looked at me for a moment, locking her eyes with mine as I pretended to have just woken. She raised her eyebrow at me, then smirked and walked away. Yeah, she totally knew what we were doing.

"You're not funny," I said impassively, but biting on her ear playfully. My hand slid seductively down her thigh and pulled her leg up slightly, allowing me to go even deeper. A few slow thrusts and we were back in the moment again. I could tell Bella was close to coming, despite the interruption, and I was still wound tight and ready to explode. Letting go of her leg, I ghosted my fingers over the bare part of her thigh and reached around to rub her clit gently. Within moments, I felt her clench around me, burying her face into her pillow to drown out her moans. I quickly followed, choosing to suck on her shoulder to silence my own moans of pleasure. I didn't realize how hard I'd done it until I pulled away and saw the mark I left.

"Wow, ow," she mumbled, sleepily. I chuckled and kissed the mark I had made on her.

"Sorry, baby. Yeah, that was…," I trailed off, discreetly rearranging our clothing under the blankets. "I love you so much, Bella."

"Love you, too," she said almost inaudibly as we drifted off to sleep together.

We must have slept soundly after that because the next thing I knew we were being woken to move our seats back up in the ready position for landing. Within thirty minutes, we were off the airplane, through customs, and waiting for our bags in baggage claim. Even though we'd slept, we were both exhausted. I pulled her into me and let her lean against my chest while we waited. She snuggled in and I swear she almost fell asleep again right there.

Once we finally retrieved our bags, the first thing that struck me as we walked out into the fresh air was that it wasn't so fresh. There was an overwhelming smell of diesel fuel and the cars seemed to be so much louder than I was used to, probably because the cabs and buses that waited outside the terminal were all diesel. I know they say it's better for the environment than unleaded, but fuck it stinks.

We had to cross the main road in front of the terminal to get to the parking lot where we would pick up our rental car, and I had to grab Bella and stop her from stepping into traffic when she forgot to look right instead of left.

"They drive on the other side of the road here, love," I said, chuckling.

"No shit, Sherlock," she snapped, fixing the sweater I had pulled her back by. Her tone was harsh and really pissy, but I knew that it was probably because she was tired. I laughed at her as she stalked off ahead of me with her nose in the air. In hindsight, that probably wasn't the best reaction.

After a brief argument about who was more qualified to drive a stick shift car on the wrong side of the road, I climbed in the driver's seat and tried to become acquainted with where everything was on the dashboard.

"Can we just go, please?" Bella huffed, leaning her elbow on the window ledge and placing her head on her hand.

"I don't want to turn on the windshield wipers when I really want to turn left. I'm fucking tired too. Just please fucking chill and I'll figure it out so we can go. What the fuck is wrong with you anyway?" I tried to stay calm and not raise my voice at her, but I couldn't help it.

"What, no big plan on how to do this?" she asked sarcastically. "I thought you had a plan for everything, Edward."

"What the fuck!" I yelled finally losing it. "One minute you're fucking me on the plane and cozying up to me falling asleep on my chest at baggage claim, and the next you're biting my head off about dumb shit for no reason. I know you're tired, I am too, but your mood swings are kinda giving me whiplash."

She had no response to that and I saw her bottom lip quiver as she turned to look out the window. I hadn't intended to upset her, but damn it she if wasn't pissing me off. This was not the way I wanted our fresh start to begin, especially with what I had planned for later in our stay in Scotland. I decided just to concentrate on programming the GPS system and getting us to the cottage we had rented in the village of Leadburn about eleven miles from the city. It would only take Bella about half an hour to get to the university from there.

The silence in the car was deafening except for the GPS lady with the Scottish accent telling me where to go. I couldn't really understand her so I had to keep looking at the screen to tell me where to go. Between that, Bella's silence with her back turned to me, and remembering to change gear with my left hand instead of trying to roll down the window with my right hand, I was even more on edge by the time we finally reached the cottage a half hour later. I hadn't even really had a chance to take in the scenery as I drove.

Bella was still giving me the cold shoulder as we unloaded our bags and entered the small cottage that sat at the very end of the small village. It was right beside the road with a small garden to the back and surrounded by rolling hills of farm fields. The cottage itself was rectangular in shape with windows in odd positions. The outside was covered in a spackle type material and painted a cream color. Two dormer windows protruded from each side of the roof indicating that I was going to have headroom issues upstairs with the slanted ceilings. A small mudroom jutted out the side and housed the door through which we entered.

We both dropped our bags where we stood amazed by the interior quaintness. To the left of the mudroom was a small sitting room with a fireplace, two large wingback chairs, and a baby grand piano. A deep indigo carpet covered the floor and fabric wallpaper with a paisley design that matched the carpet adorned the walls. I guessed that in its day, this would have been called the parlor.

On the left was a room with an oversized leather couch and loveseat with a flat screen TV mounted on the wall. The floor was dark cherry hardwood covered by a small area rug with modern abstract designs on it. The walls were painted a neutral beige with some modern art hanging on the walls. The contrast between this modern room and the busy antiquated room on the other side was striking, but strangely not out of place.

Straight ahead of us was a narrow stairway leading to the bedrooms and bathroom upstairs. A small hallway to the right of it led to the back of the house and the kitchen with brand new appliances. The whole house was a beautiful blend of old and new that came together to form a charming yet functional place for us to live for the next two months.

I turned to Bella and smiled hoping that the sight of the space I had found for us had lifted her mood.

"I'll take the bags upstairs," I said, reaching for hers.

"It's fine. I want to have a bath and go to bed anyway," she replied quietly, pulling her bag away from me.

I didn't want to sleep since it was only ten in the morning and didn't think she should either so we could adjust our bodies to local time. However, with the mood she was presenting, I was afraid to say anything to contradict her.

We had been living in such a bubble of blissful togetherness for the past two weeks getting ready for the trip and reacquainting ourselves with each other that I was troubled by her sudden change in mood. Yes, there had been times when one or both of us was tired and irritable, but we had managed to work through it without fighting or fucking to get through it. I was determined to make her feel better, but found myself not knowing how to do that this time without making her feel smothered. Something felt different about this.

I heard Bella moving around upstairs and then heard the water running in the bathroom, so I took my remaining bags upstairs to the bedroom. I was right about the headroom due to the slanted roof and discovered I was only able to walk upright through the middle of the room where the bed was. Moving around anywhere else in the room made me walk like a hunchback. A quirk of the house I was willing to overlook.

I left my bags in the bedroom without opening them and paused briefly outside the bathroom wondering if I should go in and talk to her. I hated that I didn't know what to do and that brought on a feeling of panic. I decided to go downstairs and try to relax. We would have to go out and get groceries at some point, but again now, I didn't know if I should do it or wait for Bella.

It frustrated me that all of a sudden I felt like I couldn't make the smallest decision without consulting Bella and not because I felt incapable of doing so. This was more a dread of making a decision that Bella would disagree with and upset her even more. I hadn't felt this level of uncertainty since before we got back together, and it was truly disturbing.

Questions raced around in my mind as I stretched out on the big leather sofa. Had I done something to upset her? Was she having second thoughts about us? Was it possible for me to be what I wanted to be for her after years of drifting through our relationship? Was it just nerves over this project? On the other hand, perhaps she was just tired after the long journey. I replayed every moment I could recall of the journey to try to pinpoint the exact moment or words that I said to anger her, but I was coming up empty-handed.

It didn't feel like I had been laying down long when I felt a soft hand on the side of my face. I realized that I must have fallen asleep and opened my eyes to find Bella kneeling beside me in her fluffy bathrobe stroking my face. I was momentarily confused and wondered if I'd dreamed the whole episode.

"Hey," she whispered, her eyes focused on mine with a beautiful smile on her face.

"Hey," I replied groggily. "Do you feel better now?"

"Yeah. I had a nice bath. You should see it, it's huge. It's one of those big old claw foot things." Her eyes darkened and a blush crept across her cheek. "Ya know, I think we'd both fit in it," she added suggestively.

This was such a change from the Bella who had gone upstairs, I think the confusion must have shown on my face.

"How long have I been asleep?" I asked.

"I don't know. I took a nap right after my bath and it's just after two o'clock now. What time did you lie down?"

I wiped a hand over my face to try to clear the fog. "I don't know, eleven or so. I didn't want to sleep but I guess I drifted off." Her smile widened, reached her eyes and they sparkled as I gazed back at her reaching to brush a strand of hair from her face. "Bella, I …,"

"Ssh. It's my fault. I was tired and cranky and I took it out on you. It wasn't fair of me and I'm sorry." She leaned down to kiss me lightly on the lips. The weight of uncertainty I had felt when I laid down was lifted completely in the promise of that kiss. I needed to stop over thinking everything and just be with her. A part of me wanted to talk more to figure out what had caused the sudden change and not fall back into solving or masking our problems with sex. Finding the balance seemed to be the key and the larger part of me at that moment wanted to find the balance by making love to my fiancée.

So, I returned the kiss eagerly and soon we were making out like teenagers. She climbed on top of me on the couch to straddle my legs and undid her robe exposing her perfect breasts to me. My hands gravitated to them and squeezed them hard before pinching her nipples. They hardened instantly, pointing at me, begging me to take them in my mouth, so I sat up and did just that.

Her hands raked through my hair urging me into her breasts, her nails in my scalp setting off tingles all through my body. When the need for air became too great I pulled away looking into her eyes.

"I should really take a shower," I said breathlessly, "I must stink."

Bella giggled and shook her head. "Why bother when you're only going to get dirty again?" she chided in a sultry voice. "Besides, you smell decidedly Edward to me, and that smell turns me on more than any other." She licked her lips then took the side of her bottom lip between teeth as she looked up through her eyelashes at me. That look right there did me in every fucking time.

I quickly lifted her off me throwing her on her back on the huge padded couch. She laid spread out before me still biting her lip. The look she gave me would be called a 'come hither' look in polite society, but I liked to call it the 'come fuck me' look, and I was more than happy to oblige. I quickly discarded the shirt, sweatpants and boxers I was wearing and sat between her legs with one of my legs curled under me.

Bella stared at me with a momentary look of confusion as I sat before her doing nothing. In truth, I was trying to calm my body, slow my breathing, and plan my course of attack. She raised an eyebrow at me and I raised one right back at her putting my thumb in my mouth, swirling it around covering it in saliva. Her eyes widened as I pressed the palm of my hand over her sex sliding my wet thumb easily inside her.

I was already incredibly aroused, but the moan she let out went straight to my dick as it stood straight up at attention. Looking down her body at me, she eyed it lustily and breathed heavily.

"Edward, please," she gasped, and that was my undoing.

I crawled over her slowly pushing one leg up high on the back of the couch and pushing the other one so her foot rested flat on the floor.I knelt with one knee on the couch and my other foot on the floor and lined up our hips pushing into her slowly.

"Is this what you want, baby?" I whispered in her ear as I leaned over her.

Bella nodded and pulled me down to kiss her roughly. With her legs spread wide and the leverage I got from the floor, I was going deeper and touching places I hadn't before. Every moan, gasp and arching of her back urged me on faster and harder as the coil tightened unbearably in my stomach.

I licked my thumb again, this time swirling it around her clit, pressing it hard into her pubic bone as my thrusting hips created added pressure. I watched Bella close her eyes and bite her lip again and that was my cue. We were totally in sync as I felt her walls tighten around me at the exact moment I released inside her.

I collapsed over her breathing hard and trying not to put all my weight on her. She wrapped her arms around my neck pulling me down to kiss her again.

"Welcome to Scotland, baby," she said, giggling, all traces of cranky Bella gone.

I was just about to return the greeting when my cell phone rang. I grabbed it quickly out of the pocket of my sweatpants. We weren't expecting anyone to call us and I was worried that something was wrong. My fear only increased when I saw it was my brother. Emmett never called me when I was in the same town, let alone across an ocean.

"Em?" I said, the panic creeping into my voice. "Is everything ok? Is Rosalie ok?"

"_Fuck, Ed, calm down. I just wanted to check you guys got there ok. You clearly can't keep your dick dry long enough to call your family," he chuckled._

I shook my head as I listened to my brother. The relief clearly must have shown on my face as Bella laughed at me pacing around the living room naked with a cell phone to my ear.

"Fuck, Emmett. We only got here a few hours ago and we've been sleeping. We were going to call all of you later. It's still early in the morning for you isn't it?"

He laughed loudly in my ear. _"Yeah, it's like seven a.m., I think. So, you're telling me you didn't accomplish your life long dream of joining the Mile High Club and/or christen your little love nest as soon as was humanly possible…" _He trailed off and my silence gave him all he needed to know.

"_S'what I thought bro', good for you. Anyway, I really did want to make sure you got there ok. We miss you already. Email all the adventures you get up to, ok?"_

"Will do. Thanks for the call, but don't scare the fuck out of me like that again. Later."

I hung up without any further words and tossed my phone on the couch. My brother was an oaf of a man with no filter for inappropriate conversation, but he had a heart of gold and I knew the phone call was based on his genuine concern that we had arrived safely despite all his bluster about my sex life.

I pulled my pants on and sat on the couch next to Bella who had retied her robe and leaned in to kiss her softly. At that exact moment, my stomach growled and her cell phone rang. We broke the kiss laughing and shaking our heads.

"You go talk to Alice," I said, "because you know that's her, and I'll jump in the shower. Then, we go find food."

She nodded and kissed me quickly as she got up to run for her phone.

Yes, welcome to Scotland indeed.

* * *

**End Note: This is a bit long, but I have shit to say so if you don't want to read my mushiness, please to be skipping to the review button, thank you so much!**

**Thank you to Suzie55 for fixing the grammatical slobbery that was this chapter and Sscana for her awesome pre-reading. I love her honesty and treasure it and trust it to make my story better.**

**Ok, so this was late because first of all I was so damn excited about meeting the Slushes in Dallas that I couldn't write. Then I went to Dallas and I met them, and just wow. It took me a week to come down so I wasn't writing then either.**

**I loved meeting everyone but I have to mention some of the special ladies who have touched my heart. Instant friends is about all I can say…I miss you guys terribly and can't wait for the next BBcon.**

**I was going to list everyone, but it got too long so just a few of you that are really special**

**Suzie – you're the best beta a girl could have and you're support in all aspects of my life means the world**

**Sarah – you rock on so many levels, thank you for organizing everything and supporting us all. Get your story going!**

**Kyla – you're motorboating skills are second to none ; - ) Along with Kym & Jess you are my dancing queens**

**Lemon – my breakfast buddy…see you soon!**

**Kellie – thank you for rescuing me after an emotional day**

**Alonelily & Jaia – the coolest roomies**

**Beaner – your hubs hooked us up with the sweatshirts!**

**Steph – you're just one hot mama**

**I know this isn't everyone. It was truly a pleasure to meet all of you. I hope to see you again soon.**

**For Your Amusement has been nominated for a Hidden Gem Award as part of the Twinklings First Annual Walk of Fame Awards. You can see all the nominees here:**

**http(:)/twinklingswfa(dot)blogspot(dot)com(/)p(/)story-nominees(.)html**

**Nominations continue until the end of November and voting starts on December 1. Fill out a nomination form here:**

**http(:)/www(dot)twinklingswfa(dot)blogspot(dot)com/**

**Come play with me on Twitter Cilla_1970. Vegward comes out to play very occasionally as well. He likes to watch Kyla's porn shows. Follow us both!**

**Reviews really do make me smile, so please hit the button below this long ass note.**

**Thanks!**

**Cilla**

**xx**


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